A group of Italians stroll in the alleyways of Sanaa's earthen cob houses and lively old souk, but there aren't many tourists in Yemen these days.
"Everything has changed since September 11," said a receptionist at Taj Shiba Hotel in the center of the Yemeni capital in a reference to the unprecedented terror attacks on New York and Washington. "Bookings are successively being canceled at a time when the high season should just be starting," he complained.
The lobby is almost empty, save for a few businessmen, journalists and employees of international organizations, even though Taj Shiba is one of the two biggest hotels in town, the other being the Sheraton.
In this country of breath-taking beauty, the tourism industry has been dealt a severe blow by the US-led war on terror. Its reputation had already been hit by a rash of kidnappings of foreigners by Yemeni tribes -- some 200 since 1991 -- and the October 2000 kamikaze attack on the USS Cole warship, which left 17 US sailors dead.
Sanaa residents hope the dry spell will be short-lived. The tourist sector provides jobs for 35,000 people, and the government believes it will eventually make up 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But for the moment, two airlines -- Lufthansa and Egypt Air -- have canceled flights to Yemen due to lack of passengers.
"Our occupancy rate does not exceed 40 percent," says the hotel receptionist. "During the high season (October to March), we usually have 15 groups of tourists on any single day who travel in 150 Land-cruisers."
"This is sad. We used to get busloads of tourists; but (US President George W.) Bush is tying them up right now," Dahhan l-Shuei, tourist guide at the magnificent Dar al-Hajar palace, a half-hour drive from Sanaa, said tongue in cheek.
Some 100,000 tourists flocked to Yemen in 2000, but this year, the country stands to lose $75 million because many would-be visitors have decided to stay away, according to official sources. "A third of bookings have been canceled since September," said Michel Percot, a Frenchman who has been in the tourist sector for years and who professes to be "in love with Yemen and its people."
Percot calls Yemenis probably the most tolerant in the Arab world. During Monday's visit to Sanaa by French Cooperation Minister Charles Josselin, Percot even circulated a leaflet declaring that he "felt safer in Yemen than in France." But the French embassy in Sanaa has recommended "to French citizens wishing to travel to Yemen to put off their plans until further notice.
"This is just a precautionary, temporary measure," said an embassy source. As for the US and British embassies, they advised non-essential staff as well as dependants to leave the country. US and British citizens have been strongly advised to shunYemen.
Moreover, US embassy cars are now driving with local, rather than diplomatic, license plates, making it more difficult to identify them, AFP has learned. — (AFP, Sanaa)
by Henri Mamarbachi
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
