Kanoo to expand travel business in Saudi

Travel agency plans to offer trips to the very edge of space.

Kanoo Group is set to expand its travel agency business in Saudi Arabia with plans to open 10 new outlets across the kingdom.

The family-run Bahraini conglomerate hopes to tap into recovering demand for travel and is even offering trips to the edge of space for more adventurous tourists from the region.

"The feeling is that the recession is over, everyone is going ahead with the projects previously on hold," said Tuan Burah, a Kanoo spokesman.

"There are new economic cities being built on the western side of the kingdom and for us, we want to be able to attract the corporate market there and specifically the industrial sites."

The Gulf tourism industry is showing signs of recovery with regional airlines and hotels benefiting from a pick-up in economic activity that is encouraging people to spend more on their holidays.

Kanoo hopes this renewed economic confidence may even tempt some adventurous tourists to pay $39,550 (Dh145,255) for the ultimate trip to the edge of space.

The group has struck a deal with STA Travel to offer excursions on a Russian military jet, which is capable of flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet.

"We signed an agreement to offer the service to Middle East customers because, for this region, $40,000 is not a lot of money for [those] who would like to take the opportunity to go into space," Mr Burah said.

Kanoo is not the only regional group to have shown an interest in space tourism.

Aabar, the Abu Dhabi investment company, is a major investor in Sir Richard Branson's start-up Virgin Galactic.