The archetypical Saudi tourist in London is found either smoking shisha outside cafes on Edgware Road or buried under piles of Harrods shopping bags. Burqas and Asian maids in tote, rich female Saudi tourists are easily identied, but it is the ostentatious young male who attracts the most attention…and ire. A careless disrespect for traffic laws and a flamboyant display of wealth in the form of loud music blaring from red Ferraris and Yellow Hummers are the hallmarks of young Saudi male tourists in London. Female Saudi tourists in London, single or married, are marked by their love of shopping, with most Saudi women, readily choosing marathon shopping over touristy activities. While in London, Saudi men also strive to appear as Westernized in attire and demeanor as possible, while the women remain largely consigned to their customs from back home.

The Khaleej Times reports that beginning June 1st, Emirates will be offering daily flights to Jeddah on their super jumbo A380. EK is also increasing their services to Riyadh, as well as commencing a limited service to Al Medinah and al Munawarrah, from July 2 to September 24, 2010, during the peak travel season. "The popularity of the A380 into Jeddah has exceeded our initial expectations. Passenger loads across all three classes are performing extremely well and this is testament to the excellent quality product that we continue to offer our customers……Saudi Arabia is an incredibly important market for EK and we will continue to push forward with our development and expansion plans," says Ahmed Khoor, Emirates Airline Senior Vice-President for Commercial Operations of the Gulf, Middle East and Iran.

PULSE™ is a proprietary MCN tool that is designed to stay in continuous touch with key target constituencies to generate ‘no holds barred’ insights cutting across every facet of Saudi life. The program is managed by www.market-i-research.com All content is the property of market-i and the Middle East Communications Network. This publication is for internal distribution only and has no commercial intent or value.

Medical tourism and plastic surgery:

South East Asia claims a niche ‘travel’ space among Saudis

Rich Saudis seeking a new nose or a change in gender look towards the many lucrative clinics available in Southeast Asia. Pandering to both medical needs, as well as the rich tastes of wealthy ‘medical’ tourists, these luxurious clinics look more like ve-star resorts than the medical facilities that they are—and Saudi medical tourists are increasingly attracted to these luxurious places! ‘Bumrungrad International’, the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia, is a case in point.

Here, in an atmosphere strikingly resembling a luxury hotel or a shopping centre, Saudi nobility recline in comfortable sofas, Starbucks coffee in hand, while nearby escalators lead pecuniarily upwards to the McDonald’s, book shops, and a variety of fashion boutiques on the second floor.

Aimed at attracting rich medical tourists in Saudi Arabia, the hospital offers a detailed website, photos of surgeons, and an online appointment facility which allows for appointments to be made remotely from within the Kingdom itself, via email. Partnering with local clinics, travel agencies are also offering specialized inclusive packages, combining ‘operation + hotel + beach’ for their patients who, after all, are still tourists.

Bumrungrad has even partnered with Thai Airways allowing patients to exchange their air miles for medical check-ups at the hospital! A single female responding to how travel for cosmetic surgery classifies as a vacation put it rather aptly as “to have the fun of a vacation, with added advantage of returning back looking better than before is the best reward of a holiday”

The Gold Coast

A two day journey worth the escape from the grueling Arabian summer

With the Southeast Queensland mild winter coinciding with the burning summer months of Saudi Arabia, many Saudi families and couples look to the Gold Coast in Australia for an ideal holiday destination. Although cultural and religious inhibitions and restrictions prevent Saudi women from enjoying most water-related activities, on the Gold Coast fathers and husbands can indulge their female loved-ones with visits to popular tourist sites and family activity centers where everyone can enjoy. Walking along the Gold Coast’s shores, visiting theme parks such as Sea World, shopping centers along the ocean shores, as well as tours on the Aqua Duck constitutes a well-spent holiday for family-oriented Saudi vacationers.