Vanquish visas and they will come

Over the past decade the Middle East has shaken off its ‘danger zone’ reputation of being a place where only the foolhardy or “conflicted tourists” would plan a holiday. Since 2000, the number of tourists visiting the region (excluding Turkey and Israel) has more than doubled, from 24.9 million to more than 53 million. And while 2009 saw a 5 percent slump in international tourist arrivals, the region was only behind Northeast Asia globally in the rise in tourists in 2010, up 16.1 percent, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Perceived heightened stability, investment, infrastructure development and marketing campaigns have all contributed to tourism in places other than long-term favorites Egypt, Turkey and the Holy Land. The rise has partly been fuelled by wary Westerners warming to the Middle East as an attractive vacation destination, after being swayed by the flurry of advertising campaigns and travel articles extolling