Kuwait City and the Saudi capital of Riyadh have been listed among the top 20 most unfriendly cities in the world by readers of a prestigious US-based travel magazine.

American magazine Condé Nast Traveler’s latest survey of ‘The Friendliest and Unfriendliest Cities in the World’ listed two Gulf cities among the top 20 least attractive to visit.

The Saudi capital of Riyadh was listed as number 15 on the unfriendliest list. “7.5 million people live in this busy megacity,” one reader was quoted as saying, “and they all seem to be on the road in cars at once! You don’t actually see many pedestrians here— the streets are not built for them!” While the review said there was a “growing trend toward tourist attractions,” the magazine’s readers recommended tourists to “avoid unless on business.” Another reader reported that the “people are rude.”

This could all change in the coming years as last month Saudi Arabia announced it was planning a year-round events calendar to boost tourism outside of the traditional Hajj and Umrah periods, the head of the kingdom’s tourism commission told Arab News.

Various festivals drawing in domestic and foreign tourists generated SR17bn in revenues in the past eight years, Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) president Prince Sultan bin Salman said.

Saudi Arabia, home to many of the holiest Islamic sites, including Makkah, receives majority of its tourism income from pilgrims, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan and the last month of the Islamic calendar, when the Hajj is performed.

Prince Sultan announced plans to boost tourism in the kingdom during 2014-2018, including developing events year-round. Many of the events would target domestic tourism, families and youth.

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