HOLIDAYS are once again upon us and plans to travel are foremost in nearly every family's mind. At the start of the mid-term vacation two weeks ago, I asked, just out of curiosity, many families on their plans for vacation these holidays and the overwhelming majority said that they would be traveling abroad. Those who opted to stay back in the Kingdom said that they would be relaxing at home or take advantage of the time at hand to visit family members. Not one of the families spoke about the local tourism activities that were taking place in various parts of Jeddah and, once sounded about the events were discouraging about their prospects of attending. For the record I am not focusing on people who visited the local events in Jeddah but am focusing on the statements of people who did not and do not believe that we have entertainment in Saudi Arabia.
It has been the norm for many years that whenever vacation time approaches, people immediately fly or drive outside the Kingdom to neighboring countries, especially Dubai, Cairo and Istanbul, or other favorite touristic destinations. People enjoy the scenery outside, the great tourism infrastructure, the history of the place they are visiting and rave about sightseeing, the theme parks, restaurants and their enjoyable stay in five star accommodation at very affordable prices.
They then come back to Saudi Arabia and recount the quality time they spent with their families embellished with stories about the places they visited and the haven it was, making a vacation memorable and well spent. They also then start comparing the whole gamut of their experience with what ifs scenarios. They would start with what if we had spent time here (inside the Kingdom) then we would not have been able to see this and see that.... while also launching on a comparative study of what they have seen abroad with what we have here. The conclusion at the end would inevitably be — never spend your money domestically but spend it outside for it is much cheaper. How this economics pans out is what I have never been able to understand, for in my belief there is cost involved be it domestic or abroad.
I, however, have to say that in the past the entertainment industry did not exist in any form. There was no control on those investing in recreation and tourism projects in terms of quality or prices. The prices then were out of reach for many people and worst of all, the infrastructure did not exist. For a middle-income group family, it did require a huge budget for a weekend at any of the resorts. Just a simple example of the cost at that time could be gauged by the price of a can of soda. Originally if the can of soda cost one riyal, it was sold inside these resorts for seven riyals — sometimes even ten riyals. The price of stay in these resorts would cost around SR3,000 for two nights, which not many people were able to afford.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is rich in touristic places to visit and historical places to see, yet greedy investors have made it impossible for ordinary citizens to enjoy these places at leisure by marking up prices to such an extent that even a short group holiday to any destination abroad would prove to be a bearable burden.
Given these facts, many Saudis take the first chance to travel abroad when there is a vacation. In statistics released in 2016, it was estimated that Saudis spent nearly SR52.8 billion ($14 billion) in tourism abroad. The Saudi tourists are considered high spenders, compared to other tourists. About 4.5 million people travel abroad from the Kingdom every year with their families. This is a huge number and a huge market and it made sense for countries to target the lucrative Saudi tourism market. That's why, come vacation time many touristic offers mushrooms making it such that the numbers of Saudis making a beeline for trips outside are steadily growing.
But of late there is a change in the approach of authorities toward tourism. Yes the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage started late to tap the market, but to start late is better than not starting at all. The recent events organized by the tourism authority only shows that the authority is serious about reviving this sector because of its positive impact socially and on the local economy, not to mention the many jobs it creates and will create in the future.
As it mobilizes to prove a draw, the biggest challenge that the entertainment authority will face, in my opinion, is not attracting or hosting major events or building striking projects but to convince the Saudi tourist that entertainment does exist in our country. The image of overpriced entertainment places or resorts should change first and we should invest heavily on that. Along with the change wrought in the prices, the need to advertise the areas of entertainment and touristic destinations should gather steam along with a serious campaign that should include offers that would be palatable to many and suitable for most.
Ironically, the same people I spoke to who told me that they would not visit the Jeddah historical downtown festival because of traffic are the same people who travel to Cairo, the No. 1 city in road traffic congestion, get stuck in traffic for two hours yet don't mind the discomfiture and enjoy their time on the exhaust-fueled roads in the sweltering heat. The only thing I can conclude here, from their acts, is that they use the traffic problem or the humidity or heat as an excuse not to go to a domestic event, simply because they do not believe in domestic tourism.
In such a catch-22 situation, the work of the entertainment authority is cut out for them to come up with novel ways to change the ingrained mindset of Saudis and channelize their interest in spending time at home while boosting domestic tourism. We need to find out first what will make a Saudi family spend double and sometimes triple on domestic tourism than traveling abroad. And tap these families to be the travel ambassadors by providing them an experience that they would savor and relate to others. Many who are willing to spend more to have quality time at home are the likely pioneers who'll fuel domestic tourism and entertainment for they do agree that these entertainment projects, which are not only for us but for the generations to come, would truly benefit our country.
The writer can be reached at [email protected] Twitter: @anajeddawi_eng
