Europe scores over others as preferred destination

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JEDDAH: Almost 50 percent of Saudi tourists have headed for Europe to spend the Eid Al-Fitr holidays, thanks to weakening of the euro against the dollar and discounts offered by some airlines.

Saudi Arabia-Europe flights were fully booked by the end of Ramadan, said officials connected to travel and tourism."Tourist destinations like Turkey, Dubai, Malaysia and some East Asian countries, which are generally preferred by many Saudis, are witnessing a relative lull this summer due to the rising prices and temperatures there," said Nasser Al-Tayyar, the head of the National Tourism Committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers.He said the month of Ramadan coincided with the school summer vacation this year, so many of them planned to travel during this time.Another expert, Badar bin Mohammad, said the summer vacation witnesses a large number of Saudi families wanting to travel outside the Kingdom because of high temperatures in the Kingdom.Echoing Al-Tayyar's view, he said E urope, Malaysia and Turkey were preferred destinations by Saudi tourist, but Europe claimed a higher share of tourists this year because of the low prices of the euro. "However, Dubai still continues to be a preferred choice for some Saudi families."There has been an increase in the number of Saudi tourists this summer compared to the last season and the expenditure on outward tourism has increased, he said.A recent report released by the Tourism Information and Research Center (MAS) of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities revealed that Saudis' spendings on foreign tourism last summer rose by 32.7 percent compared to 2013."Expenditures on foreign tourism exceeded SR29.6 billion in 2014 compared to SR22.3 billion in the summer of 2013. Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar were leading destinations attracting 51 percent Saudi tourists last year, followed by the Middle East countries (29.2 percent), South Asia (9.2 percent) and Europe and the US (6.3 percent)," said the repor t.The report said that spending on local summer tourism last year exceeded SR6.2 billion compared to SR5 billion for the same period in 2013, an increase of nearly 24 percent.


Source: Europe scores over others as preferred destination

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