The number of Saudi tourists visiting the country dropped by more than 28 percent in August

Friday, October 4, 2019

As per government data, Turkey has reported a sudden decline in tourists from Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf in 2019.

In August, the number of Saudi tourists visiting the country decreased by over 28 percent compared to a year before, according to statistics from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Also, arrivals from the UAE dropped by almost 16 percent over the same time.

During the first eight months of this year, the number of Saudi tourists visiting Turkey declined by 19.7 percent, as UAE tourists dropped by 12.5 percent, in comparison to the year-earlier period. Nevertheless, the country remained popular with visitors from Egypt and Israel, rising 24.6 percent and 26.2 percent, respectively, in the same period.

For its citizens, Saudi authorities have published several travel notices who are coming to the country this year after some were targets of theft and fraud.

The loss of high-spending Gulf tourists comes as a major blow to the shattered tourism of the country which has also been left reeling by the collapse of Thomas Cook, the UK tour operator that went bust last week.

The drop in tourism from the Gulf has overlapped with a retreat by Arab real estate investors according to Bulut Bagci, president of World Tourism Forum
“Arab tourists were coming to Turkey both for tourism and investment,” he said.

“Apart from diplomatic conflicts between KSA and Turkey, I think Arab tourists were dissatisfied when they noticed that the houses that they bought in Turkey incurred losses.”

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