Amidst the global economic downturn and the major setbacks afflicting the worldwide travel and tourism industry and its ancillary sectors, the unaffected state of tourism in Saudi Arabia stands glowingly as a representative of an optimistic economy and an upbeat market sentiment. Widely dominated by religious and domestic tourism and encouraged by government efforts to boost local markets, the Kingdom’s travel industry has been very resilient to the economic crisis.

Religious tourism has always formed an important travel cornerstone of both domestic as well as inbound tourism for Saudi Arabia. Of the more than 30 million domestic trips made within the Kingdom, over 15 million are ‘religious’ in nature, while more than half of the tourism pouring into the Kingdom is likewise religiously motivated.

The Hajj, undertaken by hundreds of thousands of Muslims each year, is an ‘obligatory’ demonstration of faith and thus continues irrespective of economic downturns. Additionally, as the number of cost-conscious Saudi travelers rise in response to the global crisis, domestic & regional travel is ever more popular, with holiday options such as the UNESCO World Heritage Sites within Saudi, or international destinations like Cairo, Jordan, Cyprus and Kuwait becoming more viable.

Therefore, the outlook for domestic & regional tourism is positive, with healthy growth expected during the next five years. Inbound travel is also expected to grow, albeit moderately, with major government initiatives such as the largest eco-tourism park in the Middle East driving the growth. Outbound travel to USA and Europe continues to decline due to post 9/11 anti-Islamic sentiment & ‘unwelcome’ attitudes experienced by Saudis in the West. This cooled Western welcome has triggered among Saudis a deeper search for identity and an intense attachment to their own roots & origins.

Our Saudi Homemakers and Climbers mirror this sentiment, and appear more culturally driven and choosy over where and how and to spend their holiday budgets. Saudi travel agents quote nearly 30-40% increase in summer business, characterized by higher family travel. Among Eid holidays and other short breaks, they cite a 50% increase on outbound travel, with domestic/local travel rising by almost 70%. Travel by single males and even single females is quoted as being higher during the short holiday breaks, affirming the findings of our travel behavior study among single males and females.

Extreme makeover

Saudi women welcome the change in their husbands when traveling

Married Saudi female homemakers we spoke to cited a transformation in their husbands when visiting European or American destinations. Some even expressed resentment with returning home because of the ‘loss of closeness’ they suffer in the convention-driven atmosphere of the Kingdom. For these wives, their husbands are a “different man” when holidaying abroad, openly expressing love and caring for wife and kids.

A Times Online article quotes one wife this way: “It’s amazing how my husband becomes a different man when we go on holiday and can escape from this country — even to Bahrain. We start to do things as a couple. We go shopping together. We play together in the swimming pool. The children become closer to us. The whole family benefits.” It appears travel is perceived as a key facilitator of ‘genuine’ bonding between all members of the family by both male and female homemakers, who are also united in dubbing it a catalyst for greater understanding and friendship between the couples.