Ryad (AFP)

The quarantine of thousands of people in Saudi Arabia, due to Covid-19, is a temporary lifeline for hotels that are betting on the recent introduction of tourist visas to thrive.

With nearly 4,500 cases of new coronavirus officially recorded, the highest figure in the Arab Gulf countries, the kingdom suspended air flights, closed entire cities and imposed curfews throughout the country, which brought a blow to the emerging tourism sector.

But authorities have also spent millions of dollars to quarantine thousands of travelers and people at risk of the disease.

A four-star hotel in central Ryad had only five customers in mid-March when it was offered four million riyals (970,000 euros) per month to serve as a quarantine facility, said the AFP a source from the hotel sector.

Another establishment of the same type has been offered six million riyals, according to the same source, and many chains are seeking to conclude agreements with the government.

"It's better than running an empty hotel," the source said, adding that "the staff had prepared for layoffs, up to 50% pay cuts or unpaid leave."

Nearly 1,900 hotel rooms in Ryad have been reserved for quarantine, as well as more than 2,800 in Mecca (west) and 1,900 others in the eastern region of the country, said the ministry of tourism on its site at the end of March. Internet.

This week, the ministry said that 11,000 rooms had been prepared in the kingdom to quarantine the Saudis who must return from abroad.

- Ungrateful reviews -

The ministry said it was committed to hosting Saudi returnees in establishments that are among the "most prestigious hotels".

But despite the luxurious reception conditions, this system still gave rise to complaints for lost luggage and delay in food service.

Some travelers have also complained that they were transferred from airports to hotels without notice.

Saudis, fervent nationalists, attacked these critics on the internet, calling them ingrates.

"Saudi Arabia is not a champion of human rights but it wants to show that it pampers the people quarantined in hotels," said AFP Quentin de Pimodan of the Research Institute for European and Amerian Studies.

"With that, she is killing two birds with one stone while also trying to save the hotels and its emerging tourism industry," he added.

- Preserve the brand image -

The ultra-conservative kingdom introduced tourist visas last September with the ambition of attracting 100 million visitors by 2030. But the virus has tarnished the plans of the Saudi hotel industry, which is facing a sharp slowdown.

Tourism is one of the pillars of the reform program of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aimed at ridding the Saudi economy of its dependence on oil, while restoring its image internationally with policies of relative openness.

Hotel construction sites have multiplied, with officials estimating that the country's needs will be 500,000 rooms over the next decade.

Some 138 hotel projects, or 54,143 rooms, were to open in 2019-2020, according to sector projections.

But these projects are bound to suffer delays and funding difficulties due to the virus, said the director of a five-star establishment in Ryad who declined the government's offers to convert to a quarantine center.

According to him, such offers offer a "short-term financial advantage" but in the long term, they will affect the brand image of the establishment and customers will be afraid to return to a "hotel associated with the virus".

© 2020 AFP