A recent study revealed a surge in tourist flights in the Kingdom in the past year, reflecting a steady growth in domestic tourism. A statistical study on the indicators of tourist activity in 2007 found that domestic tourist flights totaled 28.5 million, compared to 27.1 million in 2006, an increase of 5 percent. There was also a four-percent increase in the number of visitor flights through the previous year. According to the study, conducted by the Tourist Research and Information Center at the Supreme Tourism Authority, domestic tourists spent approximately 188 million tourist nights in the Kingdom in 2007, as compared to 184 million tourist nights in the year 2006, an increase of 3 percent. Even though demostic flights to Jeddah were down by three percent from 2006, Jeddah remained the most attractive destination for domestic flights in 2007, followed by Makkah, which registered an increase of seven percent. Tourism flights to Riyadh dropped by six percent. Flights to Madina, however, registered a staggering 86-percent jump in 2007, while Dammam got 13 percent more flights. The study found that domestic tourists spent approximately SR31.7 billion in 2007. Shopping topped the list of spending, followed by accommodation, food and beverages, transportation and leisure. Leisure trips and holidays had the largest share in terms of the purpose of visits in 2007, with a growth of 8 percent compared with 2006, followed by visiting friends and relatives, up by five percent, religious purposes, up by seven percent and finally business and conferences, down by 14 percent from the year 2006. __
