MADINAH, 16 March 2007 — The brutal murder of the four Frenchmen on Feb. 26 has resulted in over 200 cancelations of holidays to Madain Saleh. The bulk of cancelations being tourists from France, the US, the UK, Germany and Japan, according to Al-Watan newspaper.
The attacks have destroyed attempts by the Kingdom to attract foreign tourists and encourage nonreligious tourism. In fact, for the only two hotels in the region — the Arac Al-Ula and Madain Saleh hotels — the attacks have resulted in great financial loss. On their part the hotels are somewhat pessimistic that they will overcome the decline in their business.
The historical sites in Al-Ula and Madain Saleh are unique. They contain temples, tombs, homes and have no equal in the world except in Petra, Jordan. The people of Anbat — otherwise known as the Thamud in the Qur’an — inhabited the mountains some 2,000 years ago, carving their civilization in the mountains they lived in. Although the people of Thamud no longer exist, their legacy remains for people to see.
Muhammad Ali Ramadan, the general manager of Arab Al-Ula, said, “Many reservations were canceled within 48 hours of the attack taking place. Thrity-nine of these reservations were French, 22 Japanese, 12 German, and another 17 from the US, the UK, and the Netherlands.”
Ramadan added, “We’ll have to wait a long time to reach the status that we had enjoyed before the attack on the French on Feb. 26. It was bleak then as well but now its worse.” The hotel manager also spoke about the other obstacles his hotel faces including phone line problems, electricity cuts, and the out of limits of some historical places.
Ziad Ahmad Abdullah, the general manager of Madain Saleh hotel, said his hotel was expecting lots of international tourists. “Within three days we had to cancel 80 reservations that were only for March. We had to return the money to different travel agents and we don’t think they’ll be booking with us in the near future as well.”
Both Ramadan and Abdullah added that tourism in the region would die out if both hotels were to close. They further urged the authorities to find ways to save the two hotels saying tourism in the region would go back to what it was 14 years ago when only day-trippers would visit.
Ramadan added that it was a problem that the Al-Ula Museum is shut during the weekends even though that is when the vast majority of visitors come. Abdullah said there was a problem with people being issued tourist visas, which hinders the arrival of many tourists. Both hotel managers also called on the Supreme Commission for Tourism, to support existing projects.
