European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 04, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I1 Mideast tourism takes nosedive by Sydney Rubin associated press the men of Jordan s tourist Board stared glumly at a paper on the polished conference table. A . State department advisory warned tourists to stay away. The Click of worry beads filled the silence while the men considered the latest piece of bad news since Iraq invaded Kuwait on aug. 2. Quot everything s at a Complete standstill Quot said Nasri Alala Secretary general of Jordan s tourism ministry. Within two weeks of the iraqi invasion everything was  from Marrakech to my Konos and across the Mideast thousands of people who earn their living off tourism Are watching business collapse Quot for americans especially the Middle East is a single place and people Don t distinguish Between one Arab country and another Quot said James Ruggia associate editor of travel agent Magazine in new York. It does t matter if the troops Are stationed in the saudi arabian desert nobody s going anywhere near the Middle East Quot he said. An official with the army s on base travel Agency in Germany told the stars and stripes his firm has also experienced a decline in demand for Tours to the Mideast. Bob Wyatt assistant managing director for scheduled airlines travel offices overseas said Quot there has been a drop off in travel to the Middle  but he said it is difficult to determine if this is because of seasonal factors or a result of the persian Gulf crisis the loss of an estimated 750,000 tourists this year will Cost the already ailing jordanian Economy about $230 million by december. Tourist dollars amount to nearly 10 percent of Jordan s income. Ome tourism experts in Amman think nearly $2 billion will be lost if the persian Gulf tension continues through next year. We had tremendous Hopes. Everything was overbooked for 1991. We had just come out with a fantastic new brochure and were aiming for the american Market for the first time Quot Atalla said. Quot now this Quot he said gesturing toward the . Travel advisory. Since the United states issued the warning in late August a followed by similar advisories by most european countries a nearly the Only people arriving in Jordan have been journalists and refugees. The correspondents represent a source of income for the Cash strapped nation but the mostly asian refugees have been an enormous Drain. Quot we be had refugees because it s secure Here but tourists Don t see it that Way Quot said Louis Caviezel manager of the Amman Plaza hotel. Quot we be had no civil disturbances no attacks. Jordan is peaceful and stable but there s nothing we can  Caviezel said the managers of Jordan s major hotels plan to keep employees for the foreseeable future. But at least 50 other hotels in Amman alone Are beginning to consider layoffs officials said. In the red sea resort of Aqaba the Holiday inn had guests in 11 of its 160 rooms one recent Day. The rest of the normally bustling port City was just As deserted. At Petra the ancient City that was the setting for Indiana Jones and the last crusade the wind whistles through the empty ruins normally packed with sightseers. Sites such As Egypt s great Temple of Abu Simbell Are not new hotels were being built at Petra and . Nobody knows what will happen now. Quot it could take years for us to recover from this Quot said the owner of a new hotel who declined to give his name borne businesses won t  a these Are hard times in North Africa As Well. European and . Tour operators say 60 percent of their clients who booked autumn holidays to North Africa Are transferring to destinations As far from Iraq As they can get. The Island of Cyprus a popular destination with British vacationers reports hotel and tour cancellations of up to 25 percent. Greece and Turkey Are suffering less but still have seen a drop in reservations since Iraq invaded Kuwait. Quot by Early september most places Are reporting a 10 to said p w8 eve its much higher Quot Ruggia almost 150,000 americans and nearly 1.2 million europeans visited Egypt last year. But egyptian tourism officials say they re looking at potential disaster in the fall water season that begins next month. Israel has escaped the Avalanche of cancellations for the seeing Many americans these Days. Moment. It is welcoming thousands of people for the jewish holidays of Rosh hash Ana yom Kipp Urand sukkot. Ends r w3t we Appen Wen tie Holiday Rush one Large California tour operator says 20 percent of other to have bedded they/1 see Israel and Egypt so me major International airlines have tightened Security w Ile some carriers Are flying costly detours to avoid the entire Middle East. Kim has rerouted Long haul flights that normally Stop in Ubai the United Arab emirates or Bahrain to airports in Reece India and Thailand a spokesman for the dutch airline said. Pan american world airways air France and others Are Ying new routes to bypass any potential trouble. H Turs a vacation oriented Carrier 70 percent owned and Al ordnance As st0pped a n8 Tours to Syria Yemen a spokeswoman for Royal jordanian airlines said tourists quickly abandoned the Carrier. There s nothing much that we can do but keep our angers crossed and wait and see Quot she said. Stripes Magazine october 4, 1990