Europe favourite destination for Saudi tourists

Destinations in the region, such as Egypt, Syria or the UAE, are not as popular as in the past, travel officials said. "Because of the better exchange rate in Europe, an advantage for visitors, there has been an increase in booking to European destinations by as much as 15 to 25 percent depending on the European countries to be visited," said Essam Al-Hassani, general manager of Minhal Travel and Tourism Agency.

The much-beleaguered euro currency is still in the midst of a long-term downtrend, having plunged almost 50 percent in value since December 2009. Global currency strategists are saying that they expect the euro to decline to $1.13 in the third quarter, $1.08 by the end of 2010 and for it perhaps to go as low as $1.01 next year before rebounding.