Saudis avoid U.S. for summer holidays

With summer very much upon us, temperatures already approaching 50 on the Celsius scale and humid days and nights in the coastal cities of Saudi Arabia including the Al Khobar - Dammam conurbation very much round the corner, hordes of people have already moved out of the Kingdom or are in the process.

But there is a significant change this year. The number of people going to the United States is much lower than it used to be - for obvious reasons.

The stories of maltreatment of Saudis and the racial profiling, as some call it, in the U.S. following the September 11 incidents have instilled fear among many travellers to the U.S. from this part of the world. And they are heeding the call to avoid such destinations.

Last month the interior minister Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz advised Saudis not to travel to the U.S. or other foreign countries unless there are compelling reasons such as treatment, studies or business.

Even the Imam of the Holy Ka'aba also in one of his recent Friday sermons asked the believers to avoid such destinations and instead go to Islamic countries.

The U.S. has been a favoured destination for Saudis for many years. Some reports indicate that last year during the summer 50,000 Saudis went to the U.S.

According to U.S. embassy officials here, each Saudi tourist visiting the U.S. spends an average of $500-$700 per day, and stays an average of 35 days.

Estimates are that Saudi tourists spend 30 billion riyals (approximately $8 billion) annually on holidays abroad.

Said Al Gahtani of the Sabic Services Ltd. (SSL) when last week learned of the impending visit of Emir Hashmi, a young Pakistani to the UK and Spain for summer holidays, strongly suggested him not to even think of going to the U.S..

Aamir agreed immediately. Said was simply echoing his own sentiments.

Due to sharply lower business Saudi Arabian Airlines which until last year operated almost a daily flight to U.S. tourist destinations such as Orlando from Jeddah during the summer peak seasons, has almost scrapped the service.

Tauseef Ahmad of the Manafa Travel Agency in Al Khobar said the number of Saudis going to the U.S. has fallen significantly. "I hardly get a booking to the U.S.", he admitted.

Even issuing of U.S. visas has become much more cumbersome than before. The U.S. Embassy officials say they need at least 20 days for a background check on the applicant and that visas are issued at least five weeks after the submission of the application.

With the U.S. now out of favour, travel industry sources say that Egypt, Dubai, Morocco, Malaysia, Tunisia and even Philippines, Pakistan and Iran have emerged as popular destination for many families.

According to a recent study the bulk of tourists from Saudi Arabia have changed their destination from the U.S. to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Dubai has indeed emerged as a fascinating destination.

The emerging scenario has also given a boost to domestic tourism. Increased numbers of buses are now reported to be serving the demand of people in a country as vast as Saudi Arabia and taking them to cooler climates in Abha and Taif.

The U.S. loss is definitely the gain of others.