Thursday, February 2, 2012

Tourism in the Middle East

Tourism in the Middle East is something that seems to be expressed heavily. Tourism in almost every country in the Middle East (with a few exceptions) seems to contribute to a large proportion of that nations entire economy. There are a lot of shared features of tourism among these countries. They mainly consist of beaches, historical monuments, annual events, and much more. Some however can be very specific like the Hajj Pilgrimage in Mecca.

Tourism seems to be advancing in the Middle East, seeing that it is a relatively competitive sector; and like I said, there are many shared characteristics between the nations. Some nations however like to focus a little more strongly on specifics. For example, Jordan is trying to focus on enhancing its nightlife, especially in Amman. Dubai is trying to attract tourists from all over the globe to come see the city's infrastructure. Egypt and Syria aren't really focusing much on tourism these days because of what is happening in their countries.

Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates all seem to want to enhance their city life scene so people will come and join them. But when it comes to these nations in particular, plenty of international tourists tend to avoid showing up during the summer. This is because the summer season in these countries is something unbearable. You'd be out of your mind if you chose to take a vacation in the Gulf countries in like mid July. It just doesn't happen.

Saudi Arabia only collects revenues from tourism in during the Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca. Saudi Arabia is an Islamic nation that follows the Islamic Shari'a. Therefore you will not see any beaches, or nightclubs, or any of that. Apart from Mecca, Saudi Arabia doesn't really have any monuments or places to go sight seeing in. During the summer, I'm guessing that Saudi Arabia is dominated by domestic tourists, although I'm not so sure.

In the end, the next few posts will essentially analyze the tourism industry in various nations in the Middle East. And if there are any repeats or nations that seem to obtain very similar qualities regarding their tourism, then I'll pretend that their both competing against each other and I'll analyze both nations at the same time.


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