SANAA, April 14 (Saba) -The approximate losses faced by the Yemeni Tourism sector as a result of the aggression and the siege inflicted by the US-Saudi led coalition is six billion four hundred and seventy-seven dollars.

According to a report issued by the Tourism Promotion Board, the number of tourism sites and establishments targeted by the US-Saudi coalition causing full, partial or little damage is calculated to be 230 places and facilities.

These facilities provide various services related to tourism activities varied between accommodation services like hotels, touristic cities, resorts, touristic baths, restaurants, cafes, gardens, rest houses, parks and events halls, and tourism institutes, agencies and car rental.

All have been directly or indirectly damaged varied between partial, medium and total destruction, in addition to the layoff for more than 95% of the working staff in touristic facilities of all types.

The report pointed out that the loss of the Tourism Promotion Board was estimated at more than 9 million dollars.

The damages assessment study on tourism sector and services associated with tourism industry, which has been conducted by Ministry of Tourism and Yemen Tourism Promotion Board in cooperation with Yemeni center of Remote Sensing and GIS systems, has revealed a great decline in the flights of operating airlines in the Republic of Yemen from 223 flights per week to only 17 flights, which is only (14) weekly flights of Yemenia Airways instead of (102) flights, while Felix Airways flights declined from (55) to only (3) weekly flights.

For both Arab and foreign airlines in addition to technical flights, there were zero flights recorded, when they were varied between (52) and (14) weekly flights each.

For example, Yemenia Airways, since the first month of the aggression, has suffered losses of more than (12) million USD - according to a declaration by an official source in Yemenia Airways which was published Tourism Journal in November 2015.

The Saudi led-coalition aggression accompanied by land, sea and air siege, has led to the suspension of all flights to Yemen, in addition to the destruction of most airports and seaports in Yemeni causing them out of service.

Due to this aggression, tourism agencies have suffered losses of more than 1.2 billion USD, as they were about to bring tourists groups from Russia, East Asia and Eastern Europe. While the losses of hotels sector has reached an amount of (480) million USD ,not to mention the damages in the infrastructures constituted in the destruction of buildings, facilities, ports and airplanes that being targeted directly.

It is indicated that the losses volume in tourism sector is increasing continuously with the continuation of the Saudi-American aggression which is led by Saudi Arabia on Yemen and its persistence to destroy the Yemeni civilization, history, land and people.

Written by Mona Zaid