25 July 2016
JEDDAH: Specialists have identified a number of reasons behind the reluctance of some citizens to choose domestic tourism over international vacations.

The reasons include transportation problems, shortages of services and restrooms, the lack of domestic air bookings, the high prices of hotels and furnished apartments domestically, poor services in the tourist sites such as bathrooms, mosques and groceries, the lack of sufficient entertainment facilities, weak tourism programs and the lack of general development of cities.

According to the latest statistics from 2015, Saudi expenditure on foreign tourism reached nearly SR70 billion, while internal spending reached SR28 billion, with more than 8 million Saudi tourists going abroad during the summer holiday.

Saudis are the most common tourists found in Dubai with 1.5 million tourists going there annually, while the number of Saudi visitors to Qatar in 2015 reached more than 900,000. Economic estimates indicate that the number of Saudis who travel abroad each year is over 13 million.

Mohammad Al-Mojil, chairman of the National Committee for the Chamber Tourism Board, said: "There are several ways to attract domestic tourists, including by marketing packages which include transportation, aviation and housing offers, as well as through improving the quality and diversity of festivals and refraining from repeating events."

He said that the number of people who travel domestically is increasing, so they have to focus on this sector because it is beneficial to the local economy.

Khalid Al-Qahtani, a guide and an investor in the tourism sector, stressed that we must diversify tourism programs and develop them by allowing foreign investors to invest in the Kingdom.

He also pointed out that one of the main reasons behind the increase in the prices of tourist services is the lack of supply in conjunction with a rise in demand from citizens.

Fahd Al-Massari, a tourism analyst, said: "The authorities concerned must deal with the issue of enlarged international tourism by providing services and price controls domestically, and by launching promotional campaigns to make Saudi tourists recognize the most important tourist sites we have in our country."

Mohammed Barakati, a tourist, called for the need to create large entertainment cities such as the cities that exist abroad, as well as developing archaeological sites and assigning them to private companies to run at fair prices.

© Arab News 2016