Tayyar, Chairman of Al-Tayyar Travel and Tourism Company, has said that domestic tourism in the Kingdom will be the main beneficiary this summer due to disturbances in various Arab countries. “A lot of people will abstain from going abroad this year; so the local industry is expected to get a larger-than-normal share of the Saudi tourist market,” Al-Tayyar told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. “The number of Saudis going to Syria, Yemen, Tunisia and Egypt will obviously fall this summer, and with bookings for Egypt currently standing at around 10 percent of their normal rate I expect the number going to Egypt to fall from its usual one million to around 100,000,” he said. Popular alternatives to those countries are East Asian nations like Malaysia and Singapore, Europe and the United States, he said, but overall bookings for abroad are still expected to fall this summer by “something approaching 50 percent”. According to figures from the Saudi High Commission for Tourism, domestic tourism in the Kingdom is projected to reap from locals and incomers over SR100 billion by the year 2020. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), meanwhile, has been working to increase the number of recreational and tourism offerings across the country with some 26 festivals announced for this year and hundreds of other cultural, social and heritage events being held over the summer. Authorities are keen to extend the extent of tourist interests, and in that vein the SCTA has recently set up a team of specialists to develop mountain walks and climbing opportunities in the country. The team is tasked with seeking the guidance of experts to plan and promote mountain climbing, hill walking and introducing criteria for the licensing and operating of these activities.
