Absence of tourists hurts Old Sana’a City merchants

In the heart of the capital, lays Old Sana’a City with its towered buildings and ancient architecture that experts believe dates back 2,500 years.

In the heart of the capital, lays Old Sana’a City with its towered buildings and ancient architecture that experts believe dates back 2,500 years. With its unique beauty, this famed area has long been known to capture the awe of visitors.

โ€œTo enter Old Sanaโ€™a is like entering the pages of a history book,โ€ said Basim Al-Dawsary, a Saudi citizen who often roams the streets and traditional markets of the neighborhood.

For years Old Sanaโ€™a had been a popular tourist destination, drawing visitors from around the globe and creating income for local merchants. However, with the onset of the revolution in 2011, tourists became a distant memory. With their exit, also went local entrepreneurs profits.

โ€œI have three shops in Old Sanaโ€™a, and my income has been reduced by 90 percent,โ€ Esam Al-Harazi, a merchant in Old Sana’a told the Yemen Times.

According to Yemenโ€™s Ministry of Tourism, over 1 million tourists visited Yemen in 2009, spending approximately $900 million in the country. For Yemen, where as much as half of the population live below the poverty line, this figure represents a significant chunk of revenue. Although the Ministry has not kept official statistics since 2009, officials say the decline in earnings is evident – so do the shopkeepers.

โ€œIโ€™m lucky to have my own house and shop, so that I donโ€™t have to pay rent. If I didn’t, I would have had to close down my shop a while ago as the current situation is unaffordable,โ€ said Zain Al-Ali, a merchant who sells various goods in Old Sana’a.

Al-Ali said that a few years ago, he used to earn YR200,000 a month, or around $840, but now he makes about a quarter of that.

Mohammed Al-Qahm, who runs a silver shop, said without international customers he barely scrapes by.

โ€œCompared to foreigners, Yemenis tend to buy silver only occasionally because of their difficult financial situation. This has driven us to think about closing our shop,โ€ he said.

Najeeb Al-Ghail, an employee at a local tourist agency, said tourism, more than any other industry, is still suffering from the aftermath of the 2011 revolution. He said a negative image, combined with increased travel restrictions within Yemen has created a situation where their only income is from those wanting to perform a Hajj or Umrah (Islamic pilgrimage).

Old Sanaโ€™a is not the only area that has suffered from the decrease in tourism. People in other popular tourist areas such as Al-Mahweeet, Saโ€™ada, Ibb, Taiz and Aden have all taken significant hits. Several hotels in Aden recently filed for bankruptcy and Al-Ghail says he rarely makes a hotel reservation for Taiz anymore.

Despite the current slump, Al-Ghail says the government should be looking to the future and trying to invest in the future of tourism as he hopes it will eventually recover. He said the areas like Al-Nasera and Maswar of Hajja, Shehara, Manba and Al-Nadheer of Saโ€™ada, Baker and Al-Riadi of Al-Mahweet, the Aryan, Saber and the Otma mountains have huge potential for tourist activities like hiking and skydiving. However, there is currently little being done to develop such areas.

The general director of the Tourism Office in the Capital Secretariat, Adel Al-Lawzi, told the Yemen Times that he is optimistic that tourism in Sanaโ€™a will improve in the coming year. He said the capital secretariat is currently implementing programs to foster its recovery.

Recently, the office lifted street vendors, who were informally setting up shop near the entrance of the Old City so as to clean-up the tourist site’s appearance. However, the move upset many of the displaced merchants as the marketplace they were offered as an alternative was not as lucrative or strategically placed.

With many countries still issuing travel warnings for Yemen, the silver, jewelry, perfume and honey dealers in Old Sana’a say the coming year will be a test to whether they will continue to be able to survive in a tourist attraction without tourists.

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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