The number of Saudi tourists travelling to Dubai during the mid-term school vacation this year reached more than 160,000 on scheduled flights of five airlines operating between Saudi cities and the UAE cities of Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Waleed Al-Subaie, Chairman of the Travel Agencies and Tourism Committee of Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper, sister publication of Riyadh Daily, that most of the travelers are staying in Dubai hotels and hotel apartments. The emirate has become the first choice of Saudis for short holidays of two to ten days because of its competitive prices and superior services as compared to other destinations worldwide. Al-Subaie noted that the current conditions in some Arab countries, besides the political situation in Turkey, are among the contributory factors to the dramatic increase in the number of tourists arriving in Dubai from other countries this year. Travel and tourism offices in the Kingdom noted the high occupancy rate in flights to Dubai from Saudi Arabia, reaching more than 90 percent on some flights. According to official data, since the beginning of January until the end of November, 2016, Dubai hotels received approximately 1.5 million visitors, as against 1.4 million guests in the corresponding period of 2015, an increase of 7 percent. Saudi visitors to Dubai came only second in numbers to Britons. There are six airlines connecting the different cities of the Kingdom to Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. This easy air access also contributes to the increase in the number of passengers arriving to UAE. Saudia has also added eight extra flights to UAE since the beginning of the holidays on Thursday. Seats are reported to have been fully booked in both directions for the entire week.
