ALKHOBAR: The travel and tourism industry is facing a crisis of sorts. Airlines and travel industry experts have reported a significant drop in the number of Saudi families taking vacation trips to Europe, the United States, Malaysia, Dubai, Egypt and Beirut. They say the drop is due to two major factors — swine flu and the global economic meltdown.
“Yes, it is true. Those Saudis who would generally go to tourist destinations, especially in Europe and the United States, during the summer are not going there this year,” said Nadeem R. Khan of Ziyad Travel and Tours. “They are worried about catching swine flu,” he said, noting they had also been advised by leading religious figures in the region to avoid travel. “Hadiths are being quoted, which basically indicate that in times of epidemic, people should stay wherever they are and that they should desist from traveling.”
Other travel agents who spoke to Arab News say it is not only swine flu that is keeping Saudis away from world travel destinations. “These are crunch times. Maybe the high-end Saudis are not affected by the global meltdown, but the middle-income Saudi executives and government employees, who might travel with their families to tourist destinations close to Saudi Arabia, have put off their travel plans for at least a year. They are basically maintaining a wait-and-watch policy,” said Bandar H. Al-Dabal, a Dammam-based travel executive.
He said the general advice from money managers these days is to hold onto your cash. “Cash is king these days, and those who have it will come out unscathed from the financial crisis,” said Al-Dabal. “Saudis are spending, but are spending less these days.”
According to travel industry watchers, a large number of Saudis have traveled to Malaysia in the last four or five years. “This time the flights to Kuala Lumpur are half empty. The flights to Dubai are not as full as they were last year. Hotels in Dubai are reporting only 40 to 50 percent occupancy. This was not the case before. Take Egypt, for example. Last year this time, no rooms were available in Egyptian hotels. Yesterday I booked a suite at almost half the price they were quoting last year. This tells you a lot,” said Ahmed Furqan of Al-Saif Travels.
Although a majority of Saudis have postponed their travel plans, some airlines have reported a 25 percent jump in outbound traffic. This has been explained as an irregular increase. “A lot of people have retrenched in recent days. Some private-sector projects have been put on hold. A significant number of expatriate workers have either been laid off or have been given a one-way ticket to their home countries. They have been basically given a six-month leave without pay in the hope that if things get better, they will be called back to duty. This has naturally led to an increase in outbound traffic for airlines. However, this is not a good omen for the airline industry. A one-way ticket is never good news,” said Moonis Raza of the Al-Hasa-based Rainbow Travel Co.
Travel industry executives say airfares have gone down drastically simply because supply has exceeded demand this time. Last year, airfares hit new highs because of high fuel prices.
“Oil was going for $140 a barrel and this naturally was reflected in the airfares. The air surcharge went up tremendously. This is not the case this year. Air surcharges have come down phenomenally, and, as a result, prices have come down as well,” said Nadeem Naqi, sales manager for Emirates in the Eastern Province. He said his airline was doing well at the moment but a lot would depend on Makkah and Madinah.
“Everything depends on Haj and Umrah season. We have to wait and see what happens next. If swine flu keeps people away, then all the airlines will face turbulence. We are therefore keeping our fingers crossed,” said Naqi.
Despite all that is happening, Indian and Pakistani expatriates and their families are not changing their travel habits. “It is business as usual on that front. This is vacation time. The schools are closed. For Indians and Pakistanis, they have no option. They also want to escape the heat here. So there is no change in their travel plans. However, one would do well to remember that most of them are not paying from their pockets for the tickets — they get their airfare from their companies,” said Al-Dabal.
There is a slight change in their itineraries, however. “Many expats traveling to India and Pakistan would generally go via Dubai and other cities in the Gulf. Basically they would spend some time in leisure activities on their way home. That is not happening this time. Expats have dropped those plans and are instead heading straight home. That has also contributed to a loss of revenue for the travel industry,” said Al-Dabal.
