Page 64 - Contributed Paper Session (CPS) - Volume 7

CPS2029 Amira Al-Salhi
2. Methodology
This paper examines the impact of natural factors ‐ temperature, rainfall,
and humidity on seasonal variations in GCC tourism. The paper assesses the
seasonal variation in tourist numbers, in the context of the variation in climatic
factors such as temperature, humidity, and rainfall. A case study on Salalah,
Oman, which has specific climate conditions, is also presented to highlight the
importance of climate as a driver for tourism in the region. Seasonality in
tourism is also caused by institutional conditions as mentioned before. In the
case of the GCC, the major institutional tourism event is the annual Hajj. In
2018, about 1.3 million non‐Saudi residents took part in the Hajj (General
Authority of Statistics, 2018). Because the Islamic calendar is based on the
lunar cycle, the dates vary each year. In recent years, the Hajj has occurred
during the September quarter. In addition, inbound tourism can also be
affected by Ramadan, which also varies each year. In recent years, Ramadan
has been in the June quarter. While some tourists may visit for family reasons,
generally inbound tourism declines during Ramadan.

3. Result
Seasonality of tourism flows in the GCC
The GCC countries are known for their desert climate – long hot summers
(May – September) when the daytime temperatures can reach highs of 50°C.
The winter months of January to March are cooler, with average daytime
temperatures of 20°C.
Figure 4 shows the mean values of temperature, humidity, and rainfall for
the different seasons in GCC from January 2007 to December 2017. Different
quarters have different mean values for climate variables. The March quarter
(winter) has the lowest temperature mean value and the highest amount of
rainfall whereas September quarter (summer) has the highest temperature
mean value and the June quarter (spring) has the lowest mean value for
humidity percentage.
As Figure 4 shows, the winter and fall seasons experience some rainfall.
However, there are still many sunny days, where the average days of rain in
the year in the GCC is about 15 days only.

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