A state of confusion struck the aviation, tourism and travel sectors following the sudden cabinet decision to suspend air traffic until the beginning of Next year, consequently there are numerous requests to cancel travel tickets and New Year’s holiday packages, which will likely lead to losses exceeding $30 million for travel agencies, reported Al Rai daily. In addition, many citizens are stranded abroad, as their vacations have ended or will end within days without alternative solutions.
The decision ended the last hope for the tourism and travel sector to survive, as the current period was the last lifeline to stimulate their business, now the situation seems dire with no end in sight. The fallout of the decision is that the market will suffer millions of losses as a result of travelers canceling holiday packages and flight tickets for regular trips.
The head of the Travel and Tourism Bureau, Mohammad Al-Mutairi, revealed to Al-Rai that the decision to suspend air traffic came at a critical time, which raised the state of confusion in the travel and tourism market and cut into its economic growth again.
He pointed out that the travel sector was struggling to stay afloat for many months, and the New Year holiday season was the last shred of hope we depended on to push out business, but we do not like what has happened.
Al-Mutairi pointed out that the New Year holiday in Kuwait is a short holiday that does not exceed 10 days, and the focus is on nearby destinations such as Sharm El-Sheikh, Dubai and Turkey, at an average cost of KD400 dinars, including travel tickets, hotel accommodation, and others.
He estimated that the number of reservations for the New Year’s holiday alone is 25,000 packages for round trips, with a total value of KD10 million dinars (KD30 million dollars), which are now cancelled due to the airport suspension, which requires preparation by airlines, hotels and offices to start reimbursement procedures, whether in cash or through vouchers.
Al-Mutairi stressed that the losses suffered in the tourism and travel sector from the last airport suspension is rising on a daily basis and will continue with the recent decision, the sector’s revenues probably declining by the equivalent of KD2.5 million dinars per day from the suspension of air traffic only.
For his part, the director of Al-Salhiya World for Travel and Tourism Ayman Zindah, said that the sector was pinning its hopes on travel in the New Year season amid positive news about the availability of vaccines and the start of their distribution, but flight bookings remained at a conservative level by customers.
In a statement to Al-Rai, Zindah noted that customers showed preferences during the current period on three main destinations: Turkey, Dubai and the Maldives, amid a growing demand for travel to Saudi Arabia, indicating at the same time that demand for travel during the season was at 15 percent compared to previous seasons, and the latest developments are leading to a dark future for the sector.
For his part, the General Manager of World Traveler Company Mohamed Al-
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