JEDDAH:Airline reservation specialists expect to see a rise in demand for air travel in the Saudi market during 2011, including an increase in Umrah pilgrims. They said growth in air travel could affect ticket prices. Ahmad Al-Idrisi, manager of a Gulf airline, said reservations to America and Europe have seen a 28 percent rise compared to the same period last year. Turkey occupied first position in the number of reservations, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia in second place. He said there have been more online reservations because it costs 30 percent less than normal office reservations. He pointed out that air-ticket prices are still stable despite the fluctuation in oil prices. He said most airlines base their prices on the highest oil price forecasts for the year. He called on the public to make early reservations and choose suitable dates to avoid any last-minute rise in prices. He said they should take advantage of the services offered by airlines on their websites. Daniel Tawfiq, manager of an Asian airline, said prices are cheaper if people make early reservations. Despite the spring vacation coinciding with turmoil in the Arab world, some families have not changed their decision to travel. Sara Majid said her children are used to traveling every vacation. “We're used to traveling to Cairo because it is the closest to Jeddah. We had no choice but to change our destination to Dubai so that our children can enjoy their vacation there.” For her part, Najat Abdullah said, “It is unjust to prevent my children from traveling due to events in other countries. We have decided to travel to Malaysia because it is a very beautiful country. This is not the first time we are going there. It suits all ages and the costs are reasonable.” Nuha Ghazzawi, a female employee at a travel and tourism office, said reservations for popular local destinations are Jeddah at 60 percent, Eastern Province 20 percent and Taif 20 percent. For foreign countries, it is Malaysia at 50 percent, Turkey 20 percent, Dubai 15 percent, and Egypt (specifically Sharm El-Sheikh) 25 percent. Issam Fuad Noor, Executive General Manager for Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA) at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, said that preparations for the busy spring vacation includes meetings with Engineer Muhammad Abed, Director General of KAIA and other managers including the Customs Department, Passports Department, Airport Security and Health Administration.He added that most domestic reservations for the spring break are for Jeddah, followed by Riyadh and Dammam. Internationally, Dubai was the most popular destination followed by Turkey. Travel to Cairo, Syria and Sana'a is continuing, he added.
