JEDDAH, 2 December 2002 — There has so far been no big rush for traveling out of the Kingdom during the upcoming Eid holiday, travel agencies report
Mohammed Hegab, tours consultant of Al Jammaz International for Travel & Tourism, said “the main reason for the unusual phenomenon is that people have just returned from their annual summer vacation which is very close behind the Eid Holiday. I don’t think they are interested in traveling again. They would rather enjoy the long holiday at home.” He added that low prices of various tour packages offered by travel agencies failed to attract them to head for outbound holiday during Eid.
“Even though it is a high season we do offer great packages. For example, we have a one-week package to Sharm Al-Sheikh which starts at SR 2,400 including air fare, accommodation and transport from airport to hotel. Sharm Al-Sheikh has proved to be a popular tourist destination for many travelers this season,” he said.
Mohammed Taher from Al Sahil Travel Agency told Arab News that people seemed very unenthusiastic about travel this year. “They feel the current political tension is not suitable to travel and most of them agree that the world is not as safe as it used to be, especially when there is a war looming over Iraq. I agree that our sales have gone down these days but we expect a boom season at the end of December when foreign residents gear up to celebrate the new year,” he said.
He said that Egypt, Lebanon and Dubai were the favorite tourist spots for people in Saudi Arabia. “Egypt and Lebanon are by far the most popular destinations for the year and they try to avoid travels to the US and European countries.”
Omran Siddiqe of the Moon Travel Agency said cash crunch could be the main stumbling block in addition to the closeness of summer and Eid holidays. “Some of our regular clients who always traveled during Eid told us that they do not have the budget to travel this year because they are either broke after shopping for Eid or they have bought new cars or houses. Therefore, they prefer to stay home instead,” he said.
However, Faisal Al Mansour who always travel to Egypt during the Eid holiday, had another reason for not planning to travel this year. He said: “I never thought I will be staying here this holiday but I guess there are a lot of attractions to make me and my family spend our short holiday here in Jeddah or Madinah or Taif.”
He noted that many of his friends had convinced him to spend the holiday in Jeddah where there will be a big Eid festival which will include various exciting and entertaining activities. “We have a choice: Either enjoy here in Jeddah or go to Madinah since both cities are promising great holiday activities,” he said.
