The most popular traditional destinations for outbound Saudi nationals include London and the US, while there has also been a surge in interest in nearby destinations that include Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Oman, Syria and the UAE. Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have also emerged as top Asian destinations for outbound Saudi tourists; Singapore has been particularly important as Saudi has become a top tourism market for the city-state following a 23 percent increase in visitor arrivals from the Kingdom in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, according to figures released by the Singapore Tourism Board. To cover this demand the Elaf Group of Companies, a business organization serving the Saudi Arabian travel, tourism and hotel industries, has announced that it has recently opened a new call centre in Jeddah and has introduced special corporate packages for exhibition organizers and exhibitors from the KSA, as part of a strategy to capitalize on the robust growth in Saudi's outbound tourism market. According to statistics from the Saudi Tourism Information and Research Centre (MAS), the Kingdom accounted for over $5.9 billion in outbound tourism expenditure from around 4 million Saudi tourists in 2008, underlining the significant importance of the tourism sector in the Kingdom's economic growth. Majed Saud Kaki, assistant general manager, Elaf Group of Companies, said: “The significant reduction in travel costs has further boosted outbound travel in the Kingdom as an increasing number of residents are now exploring new destinations to visit. Elaf has provided the infrastructure to support the growing interest for outbound travel through a new call centre that makes it easier and a lot more convenient for outbound tourists to plan their travel itinerary.” “Furthermore, we also cater to the travel needs of the corporate sector as we have introduced services that help companies organize their annual meetings or facilitate their participation in important conferences, exhibitions and other trade events in key business destinations all over the world,” Kaki added. The Elaf call center facility employs well-trained professionals and can accommodate up to 400 calls on any given day. Elaf has also created group packages for companies that wish to take their employees abroad for annual workshops or meetings, and for participation in various MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) events in destinations such as Dubai, Paris, Turkey, Lebanon, London and Egypt.
