RIYADH, 12 February 2003 — Travel agencies reported a 50 percent reduction in the number of Saudis traveling abroad this Eid because of the growing threat of a US-led war against Iraq, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday.
Travel agents expressed anxieties about how other countries may follow Kuwait’s lead and close their airports for commercial flights, which will also lead to huge losses for the travel industry.
They told Al-Watan that Saudis are generally restricting their foreign travel to Dubai, Egypt and Lebanon. European and Asian destinations attracted mainly expatriate workers visiting their home countries.
“We are surprised to see many people who used to spend Eid vacations in European countries now going places they never traveled to before,” Nasser Abdulmohsen, a travel agent, told Al-Watan.
