Dubai top destination for Saudi vacationers

Dubai is the favorite destination for Saudi tourists, mainly for short vacations. Official statistics of the emirate for 2014 revealed that 1.8 million Saudis visited Dubai.
According to experts and operators in the travel and tourism industry, Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt ranked second on the list, with the number of travelers to the two holiday destinations growing by 300 percent.
Other studies by the tourism industry estimated expenditure by Saudis on travel and tourism to stand at SR80 billion a year. They said flights booked for nearby Arab countries during the current vacation were 100 percent more than two weeks ago, in addition to the same average of wait listed passengers.
Waleed Al-Subaie, deputy chairman of the tourist committee in the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Dubai is still the favorite destination for Saudi vacationers. "All flights to the city are booked for the current midterm school vacation on all carriers — about 5,000 passengers daily.
He added that traveling abroad has become common for many Saudi families, including those with low incomes, who generally schedule their vacations ahead and make bookings early to benefit from low season prices.
Al-Subaie said some Saudis prefer European capitals such as London and Paris for ice-skating. Flights to these cities are 80 percent booked.
He ruled out the possibility of a hyper domestic tourism activity similar to the one for overseas destinations. "During the school vacation, the movement between Saudi regions is mostly for family visits," he added.
Nonetheless, he said, some indicators show that some Saudi families will spend their spring vacation in Jeddah, probably to perform Umrah as the city is located near Makkah. "But still domestic tourism does not have the same momentum as overseas tourism. The average number of such inside travelers is still low compared to the number of Saudi families who spend their vacation outside the Kingdom," he said.
Muhaidib Al-Muhaidib, another member of the committee, said Dubai is still the main destination for Saudis because of its moderate weather during this time of the year, with temperatures ranging from 25 to 18 degree Celsius.
Among the Gulf countries, Bahrain comes second on the list, with a 20 percent increase in the number of travelers.
Al-Muhaidib said travel costs for Cairo and Sharm El-Sheikh in particular rose by more than 300 percent during the last three months following the political stability in Egypt.
He said Jeddah is still a favorite destination for Saudis during short vacations. "The problem is that no bookings are available from Riyadh as flights were fully booked over a month ago, and traveling by road is very difficult for families because of the distance between the two cities," he added.
He urged authorities to increase the number of internal flights between Saudi cities, which will greatly contribute to boosting domestic tourism.
Nasser bin Tasha, a travel agency owner, said domestic tourism has suffered due to the high prices during spring vacation. "Rents of chalets in Abha region double during vacations and holidays," he said, adding that chalet rents within the city range from SR7,000 to SR21,000, almost as much as some international airfares. "This is why Saudis prefer to visit countries they have never been to before," he noted. He said airfares also increased during the school vacation, almost by 50 percent.
Prince Abdullah bin Saud, chairman of the tourism committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expects room occupancy rates at hotels and furnished apartments in the city to reach 90 percent during the current vacation because of its moderate spring weather.
"Jeddah city is very suitable for families as a domestic tourism destination with the availability of hotels, malls, entertainment sites and the ever popular corniche. The city only lacks a distinguished and diversified festival to be able to compete with other cities for attracting Saudi tourists during vacations," added Prince Abdullah bin Saud.
He dismissed the notion that vacationing in Jeddah is more expensive than in some of the tourist places worldwide.
"Jeddah lacks proper seasonal tourism. There are 200 days of the year when the city’s tourist facilities remain unutilized. The remaining 160 days are not enough to cover operational costs and make some marginal profits," he said.