SAUDI ARABIA: 1 Killed, Four Injured After Camel Collides With Car In Taif

A stray camel collided with a family car in western Saudi Arabia, killing a woman and injuring four others, local media reported on Thursday.

The collision occurred on the Nakhal Road in the direction of the city of Taif late Wednesday, the news portal Sabq quoted spokesman for the Red Crescent in the area, Emad Mansi.

"The operations room received a report about casualties in the incident. Three ambulatory teams from the Red Crescent as well as a health [ministry] team were sent to the scene," he added.

One of the victims was seriously injured while the rest sustained medium injuries, the official said without details.

In recent years, Saudi authorities have stepped up protection measures after a series of road mishaps blamed on stray camels. The accidents often occur when the unattended-to camels cross highways.

Last year, the Saudi government vowed heavy fines against owners of camels, who leave their animals in the vicinity of car roads mainly at night. Saudi authorities have also set up fences along the roads where stray animals pasture in an attempt to stop them from crossing the routes.


Tourism Observer

EGYPT: Nesma Airlines

Nesma Airlines, a member of Saudi Arabia’s Nesma Group, is a flag carrier of two countries: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arabic Republic of Egypt.

Nesma Airlines first commercial flight was on 18 July 2010 from Hurghada to Ljubljana and the airline currently operates charter flights linking Egypt's most popular tourist spots to Europe and the Middle East mainly to Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Italy,Spain, Poland and France.

And to continue its success in the charter market, the airline started to operate scheduled flights to Saudi Arabia on the 24th of June 2011 to Hail, Tabuk and Taif.

On October 27, 2016, the airline launched domestic flight services within Saudi Arabia. Flights will operate out of the central hub at Hail Regional Airport to various locations in the Kingdom which currently includes Tabuk and Qaisumah. All flights will be flown on board the airline's ATR 72-600 aircraft.

Nesma Airline's scheduled flights include:-

Egypt
Cairo – Cairo International Airport
Alexandria – Borg El Arab Airport
Asyut – Assiut Airport

Saudi Arabia
Abha – Abha Regional Airport
Yanbu – Yanbu Airport
Buraidah – Qassim Airport
Ta'if – Ta’if Regional Airport
Tabuk – Tabuk Regional Airport
Jeddah – Jeddah Airport
Ha'il – Hail Airport
Jizan - Jizan Regional Airport
Ha'il – Hail Airport
Qaisumah - Al Qaisumah/Hafr Al Batin Airport
Tabuk – Tabuk Regional Airport

However the majority of the airline's current operations center around charter flights from Egyptian resorts to the following European countries:
- Armenia
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Macedonia
- Poland
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Serbia
- Ireland
- United Kingdom

Nesma Airlines fleet consists of the 6 aircraft.
1 Airbus A319-100
3 Airbus A320-200
2 ATR 72-600

SAUDI ARABIA: Entry To Makkah Banned, Except For Residents & Haj Permit Holders

The authorities have banned the entry of people to Makkah except residents of the holy city and those working for services firms, so that pilgrims with Haj permits are able to perform the rituals comfortably.

"The Saudi government has spent billions of riyals on the construction of the Two Holy Mosques in order to facilitate the increased number of pilgrims coming for Umrah and Haj. To control the crowds, the government has to limit the number of people entering Makkah," said a security officer at the Hada to Makkah checkpoint.

He said vehicles are being inspected at various checkpoints, such as Al-Mahamadia, Al-Hada, Akher and Al-Asher. "Only those who have Makkah iqamas can enter the city. If someone works for a company to provide food or other services to pilgrims, they should have the appropriate permits." The officer said that those who want to go to Taif or Riyadh should use the Jeddah-Taif highway (Sail Kabir).

Capt. Ahmed Mohammed Al-Shomrany of the Directorate General of Passports told Arab News that anyone who intends to perform Haj must have a permit. If they are going to Taif or coming back, there is no problem, he said.

Asadullah, a motorist coming from Taif to Jeddah, who tried to take the Al-Hada road, was stopped at the Taif checkpoint and not allowed to enter, even on the Makkah-Taif road.

He said that the officer at the checkpoint told him to go to Jeddah by the Jeddah-Taif highway. "Officers are taking information, fingerprints and a copy of the iqama of those trying to enter Makkah without permit." Another motorist, Zahid Akram, said those who try to enter Makkah are deported. "My uncle tried to enter Makkah without a permit last year, and he was deported when he went to renew his residency permit."

According to the regulations, citizens or expatriates caught transporting people illegally for Haj will be arrested and their vehicles seized. Expatriates trying to enter Makkah without a Haj permit face deportation and a 10-year ban from returning to the Kingdom.

UAE: Gulf Tourists Spent SR22bn In Kingdom Last Year

Saudi Arabia's pavilion at Arab Tourism Exhibition in Dubai.

Last year, 6.6 million tourists from the Arabian Gulf spent SR22.8 billion in the Kingdom, according to a report from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) released here this week.

A report by Tourism Information and Research Center (MAS), the statistical arm of SCTNH, indicated that the number of people who visited the Kingdom during the past year (2014) from GCC countries was 11.3 million visitors.

One-day visits, without an overnight stay accounted for SR4.7 million. Over 6.6 million tourists spent about SR22.8 billion — where the one-day visitor without an overnight stay is not considered a tourist by global tourism concept.

Both Kuwait and Bahrain had a large presence in terms of the number of tourist arrivals to the Kingdom by about 33 percent each, followed by Qatar and the United Arabic Emirates.

The Makkah province including Makkah, Jeddah and Taif, occupied the first position in receiving GCC tourists, followed by Madinah, Eastern Province, Riyadh and Asir.

The first half of 2015 provided a total number around 7.4 million GCC visitors to the Kingdom, an increase of 25 percent compared with the same period last year, of whom 2.1 million visitors were day visitors-without overnight stay. About 5.2 million tourists spent about 30.5 million nights and spent nearly SR11.8 billion which went into the Saudi economy.

The ministers of tourism of GCC countries endorsed in their second meeting, which was held in Doha on October 7, a plan of action to strengthen intraregional tourism, and established a group chaired by Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of SCTNH, to lay out a comprehensive joint tourism vision, for strategic goals, in addition to preparing an implementation plan to achieve the vision and strategic goals within three months.

SCTNH supports Saudi travel companies in organizing tours for GCC nationals through engaging them in specialized travel exhibitions such as Arabian Travel Market, which is held annually in Dubai, and the Travel and Tourism Exhibition in Kuwait.

QATAR: Qatar Airways Launches Doha To Abha In Saudi Arabia

Amongst other VIPs, the ceremony at Abha to mark the start of the four times weekly operation by the oneworld member from Doha was hosted by Qatar Airways SVP Aero Political & Regulatory Affairs, Ali Al-Rais, along with Engineer Tariq Al-AbdulJabbar, Assistant VP of Domestic Airports. The celebrations were followed by an exchange of gifts in the presence of local media.

Qatar Airways has launched a new service to its eighth destination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with four flights a week to Abha (AHB). The city of Abha is the capital of Asir, a south-western province in KSA. The inaugural flight from Doha (DOH) landed on 2 September.

“We have been steadily growing our presence and services to Saudi Arabia for the past 18 years,” said Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker. “As our eighth destination in the Kingdom, Abha will bring additional flexibility for passengers connecting from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

From Abha, our passengers will now be able to travel seamlessly through our state-of-the-art Doha hub Hamad International Airport to popular cities such as London, Paris, Bangkok, Singapore, New York and Washington. At the same time this will provide passengers travelling to Saudi Arabia from international markets the convenience of another gateway.”

Qatar Airways began operations to the KSA in 1997 with non-stop flights to Jeddah. The airline has since added Riyadh, Dammam, Madinah, Gassim, Taif and Hofuf to its portfolio of destinations and currently operates 84 weekly flights to Saudi Arabia. The new route will be operated by the airline’s 144-seat A320s with no direct competition.