Officials have said that domestic tourism in Saudi Arabia is showing a 35 percent fall on last year, and are laying much of the blame on a lack of available internal flights, Al-Hayat Arabic daily said Tuesday. The tourist sector representatives said that the effect of falling tourism on the national economy would increase pressure on authorities responsible for internal air flights to resolve what they called a “deteriorating situation” reflected further in increased complaints in the Kingdom from the Saudi and foreign public alike. According to one travel agent Nasser Al-Tayyar, tourism in the Kingdom is almost wholly reliant on visits of a religious purpose. “Domestic tourism has fallen by 35 percent, mainly due to the lack of seats on internal flights,” Al-Tayyar said. “Other tourist destinations require improvements in terms of infrastructure, green spaces and recreation areas and other services, but the main issue is that there are not enough available seats on flights.” Al-Tayyar added that despite a lack of services at some hotels, prices were still on the increase. “Furnished apartments and hotels have raised prices to an unjustifiable level, making it as expensive sometimes as tourism in the Gulf,” he said. Ibrahim Al-Rashid of the Tourism Committee at Jeddah's Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted, however, that the 35 percent drop – which contrasted with projected estimates from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) – could also in part be attributed to the lateness in the year of the holiday season and its approximation to Ramadan. Another factor may be the increase in tourism to Europe aided by the favorable exchange rate. “There has been a fall over the last few years as teachers and pupils break up later and later in the year,” Al-Rashid said. He denied, however, that the price of furnished apartments was a factor. “The new classification of furnished apartments and hotels prevents the excessive price rises experienced previously,” he said. “The Kingdom's four and five star hotels offer good prices compared to the rest of the Gulf, with average room price at approximately 500 riyals.” Price rises at parks and recreation sites, he added, are “normal given the short time period of the season in which they operate, which for some is only in the summer, and they have to cover costs”. An SCTA report, Al-Hayat said, put spending on domestic tourism at SR12.7 billion, a growth rate of three percent, with domestic tourism in 2010 projected to bring in SR13.2 billion, a rise on 2009 of two percent. With domestic tourist numbers down on last year, Al-Hayat said, it is hoped that any shortfall will be recuperated in Eid Al
