“Dubai is the top holiday destination for Saudis owing to its numerous attractions. Secondly, political instability in neighbouring Arab countries, which were favoured by Saudis earlier, has diverted them to Dubai,” said Nasser Al-Tayyar, president of Al-Tayyar Tourism and Travel Group.
However room tariffs in Dubai’s hotels have shot up dramatically and the city has gradually become more expensive than European and East Asian countries, which could act as a deterrent to would-be visitors.
Meanwhile, inbound tourism to Egypt is witnessing resurgence, and the recent spell of political stability has attracted a growing number of Saudi tourists to spend their holidays there. Earlier, Saudis and tourists from other countries had shunned this Arab country due to the political unrest which has had an adverse effect on its tourism sector.
“We have four daily scheduled flights to Egypt. We also make additional flights to meet the increasing demand,” said Adel Shaheen, chairman of a Saudi travel and tourist agency.
Saudis spend an estimated SAR40 billion (US$10.6bn) annually on vacations abroad and the number of Saudi tourists visiting foreign countries roughly stands at 12 million visitors, according to a local media.
Source: Travel Daily