Saudi travellers rearrange travel plans to avoid troubled region
Saudi travellers rearrange travel plans to avoid troubled region
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According to Mona Faraj, research analyst for the Middle East at PhoCusWright, Dubai is likely to benefit from the fallout as thousands of regional holidaymakers amend their travel plans in favour of a safer destination.
Even in the middle of the protests at Tahrir Square, protestors found time to catch forty winks
(lying on the wheels of an army tank), sip on a cup of tea and munch popcorn. Who said revolutions were fought on empty stomachs!
"We're in the spring holiday season and expectations were that Egypt, Lebanon and Dubai [would see the most traffic]," she said.
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"Now I'm positive that there will be no hotel available in Dubai as all of the Saudi traffic has been diverted to Dubai because of the current political situation".
Saudi Arabia is likely to provide a significant portion of tourism traffic to the UAE, Faraj said, though European travellers are also likely to push figures up.
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"It's unfortunate, but where else would our region travel, if they're looking for short haul destinations? Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Dubai always remain high on the key priorities of our Pan Arab region, Lebanon and Egypt are now out of the question and there are a number of rumours about similar turmoil in Syria," she said.
In 2009, about 12.5 million people holidayed in Egypt, bringing revenue of $10.8 billion. An estimated one in eight people in Egypt are employed by the tourism industry.
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Tourism contributes to about ten percent of its gross domestic product and one fifth of its foreign exchange earnings. In the 2009-2010 financial year, the country's tourism revenue hit $11.6 billion.
VPu00a0pledges changes
Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman met with representatives of key opposition groups and offered concessions including some that could bring dramatic change to the country. Among the ideas agreed to by the two sides at the meeting, was a future end to the military emergency law that has been in place since Hosni Mubarak came to power in 1981.
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