Saudi’s migration removes bare obstacles in the state’s tourism campaign

He rarely strayed from the pop-up campsite, as the surrounding area had little to offer in terms of diversity: Umluz has just one dive shop, few restaurants or cafes, and zero nightlife.

He said, “It would be better for us to go out and hang out and meet such people when we travel abroad.”

The only significant tourism in Saudi Arabia has long been a pilgrimage to Muslim holy sites in Mecca and Medina. The relaxation of regulations last month enabled some tourists to return to religious visits.

In recent years, however, the government has announced multibillion-dollar development projects as the pillars of a casual leisure travel sector to diversify the country’s oil-dependent economy as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious plan . It aims to triple the sector’s contribution to GDP by 2030 from about 3% of the previous year.

With travel postponed for foreign tourists going abroad and foreign tourists wishing to enter the state, the government launched a spectacular marketing campaign, with local residents already on their radar from white sand beaches They were encouraged to visit the expanses of the mountains and the ancient ruins.

But a resulting boom in domestic tourism has also offset the shortage of the state’s tourism infrastructure.

Hotels and restaurants are inadequate and often not according to international standards, say tourists and industry officials. The country lacks public transport and there are very few stops on intercity highways. Standing prices are another challenge with a shortage of suppliers across many sites creating little competition. Beaches are such an unusual sight in public places that suspected coast guards often drive them out of the water.

Many of the virgin beaches and the Vardanta mountain trails are difficult to access or littered with litter. Some Western residents recently picked up trash from the sand after scuba-diving in the Red Sea.

The ultraconservative empire is also coming under pressure to allow foreigners to drink alcohol and allow women to wear bikinis on public beaches. But the government has rejected those changes, despite other social restrictions such as the recent relaxation in banning public ceremonies and gender mixing.

“This season helped us a lot to know where there are gaps in the market and what we want to do,” said Muzammil Ahusain, executive vice president of consumer travel at Serra, Saudi Arabia’s largest travel company.

Industry officials said that to attract foreigners once again, tourist destinations around the world would have to be replenished, filling the gaps in the country’s tourism infrastructure.

It will also allow many Saudis who usually flock to European capitals and tropical hot spots, to avoid the desert heat as well as ban alcohol and dress at women’s home.

The Saudis are among the world’s top spenders on international per capita tourism. In addition to attracting foreigners, the authorities also aim to capture a quarter of the $ 20 billion that locals spend every year on entertainment abroad, from beaches in southern Europe to malls in neighboring Dubai and Bahrain, To the bar.

However, in the last four months, groups of Saudi families and friends — often for the first time — set out from the west coast to explore coral reefs, cross mountains along the southern border, and explore rock formations scattered among the desert sands. were done.

Tourism officials said the hotel had a commercial average of 48% on average between July and September, and gained maximum vacation during an August holiday of about one. Some cities have seen more than double the tourist demand of previous years, with locals spending some $ 2.5 billion since June, a 33% increase from the same period last year.

Saria Dehli, founder of travel platform Bondai, said, “There is no way, if these people would have done any of this local tourism to the coronaires,” he said, who set up a campsite in the Ulemuz and nearby islands. Boat trips were arranged for. .

In June, authorities relaxed most restrictions on public activity aimed at combating the spread of coronovirus. Often, travelers donating face masks and traveling in small groups said they feel relaxed from suffering the most outbreaks in urban areas. But the virus is still at large in the state, where more than 337,000 people have become ill and 4,947 people have died.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Tourism Promotion Board is collecting visitor data from the unexpected heat of domestic tourism and sharing it with operators. Despite pumping billions of dollars into building new tourist destinations from scratch, the government is still counting on the private sector to try and fill infrastructure gaps at existing locations.

“You can claim that the demand is only related to lockdown or closed borders,” said Saudi Tourism Authority chief executive Fahd Hameedin. “We hope that this awareness has encouraged investors to come up with new offerings.”

Trapped in Saudi Arabia by the Coronavirus epidemic, Adrianna Daphneis took her summer vacation to the state’s southern mountains this year, where she hunted above the clouds, fed wild monkeys and met local coffee and honey farmers.

The American communications specialist also paid several hundred dollars for second-class hotels in the Asir region and found a local guide through word-of-mouth only in the capital Riyadh, where she has been living for seven years.

“In terms of natural beauty and culture, it’s all there … It’s very unique,” Ms. Dafnis said. “In terms of restaurants and hotels and tour guides, it’s not there yet.”

Write Stephen Kalin at [email protected]