Strong Ramadan and Hajj results eased impact of Iran war, Saudi tourism minister says
ROME: Stronger-than-expected results from Ramadan and Hajj visitors helped ease the impact of the disruption caused by the war in Iran, Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb said on Thursday at the FII Priority Europe summit in Rome.
Discussing the status of the country’s tourism sector, Al-Khateeb said domestic and religious tourism provided a cushion despite a “quite tough four months.”
“We are blessed because Saudi Arabia is a very large country, and people travel to (the country) for many, many different reasons. One of those reasons is religious,” he said.
“Therefore we have experienced strong Ramadan and strong Hajj pilgrimage, finish(ing) the five months with a good performance, slightly less than (the) same period last year, down by about 5 percent to 6 percent — which is a great success.”
