With most Arab countries facing political turmoil, Dubai is emerging as the most favored destination for Saudis who would like to spend the mid-term holiday season outside the Kingdom.

Travel and tourism experts believe that the number of Saudis who will be holidaying abroad would be in excess of 200,000.

Walid Al-Subaei, vice president of travel agencies in the tourism committee at Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “Airline prices are low during winter season, which encourages Saudis to travel abroad. Dubai will take advantage of the situation and will have the largest share of Saudi tourists during this short holiday.”

He said, “In 2013, Dubai received about 900,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia, not taking into account business trips. UAE airports received nearly 200 weekly flights from the Kingdom, emanating from various regions of the Kingdom’s airports in Riyadh and Jeddah.”

Al-Subaei clarified there were some Saudi tourists who prefer to visit Sharm El-Sheikh or Al-Ghardaga in Egypt which are relatively safer and stable than Cairo, which has witnessed huge protests and political uprising from time to time.

Most Arab countries which were attractive tourist destination earlier are being ignored because of lack of security in recent years.

Nasser bin Aqeel Al-Tayyar, president of Al-Tayyar Travel Group, said, “Dubai will receive more than 140,000 Saudi tourists because it is close to the Kingdom. However, domestic tourism within the Kingdom will also thrive because of the wonderful weather in most Saudi cities. Jeddah will be the most preferred city to receive Saudis from other regions.”

Tourism Malaysia has also launched various programs to attract visitors from the region to its big celebration, the Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014. Tourism Malaysia officials said the number of visitors from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE, have been increasing. According to official figures, Malaysia received 102,365 tourists from Saudi Arabia in 2012, while the number of tourists from the UAE was 18,233.

During the first half of 2013 (January to June), Malaysia received over 53,000 visitors from the Kingdom. In addition, the country also received more than 14,500 visitors from Oman, 9,390 from Kuwait and 7,804 from UAE during the same period.