Dubai
Saudi Arabia’s $16 billion religious tourism industry is safe from the Mers (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) coronavirus, Saudi travel and aviation industry executives have said ahead of Ramadan.
An influx of visitors is expected in July during Ramadan and again during the annual Haj pilgrimage in October.
Mohammad Abdul Majeed, Vice-President Sales Strategies at Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) said in Dubai on Thursday said that there has been “no economic impact from the virus.” He was speaking at the launch of a new travel industry report.
The Saudi Ministry of Health announced this week that it has underreported Mers cases. It has now killed 282, not 193, and infected 688, not 575. The World Health Organisation has so far resisted in declaring Mers a global emergency.
However, the Saudi Ministry of Health and other officials have been criticised for their handling and lack of transparency of Mers cases in the country.
Deputy Health Minister Dr. Ziad Memish is the latest Saudi official to have been removed from his position in relation to the handling of the virus. Health Minister Abdullah Al Rabeeah was fired in April.
However, Abdul Majeed said that “it has been handled very well by the government,” pointing out that there had been no drop in the number of pilgrimage travellers on the airline.
Muslims from around the world travel to Saudi Arabia each year to perform the Umrah and Haj. Last year, 16.7 million visited Saudi Arabia, a 10 per cent increase, while thirty-two million Saudi’s travelled within the country, a 7.5 per cent increase, according to reports.
Omar Al Hudaif, chief executive of Saudi-based travel agency Al Fursan, who was also at the launch, agreed that there has not been “any effect” by the Mers virus.
Mers virus cases have been reported in a number of other countries including the UAE where it has killed 10 and infected 68.
