By Ola Galal
SANAA (Reuters) - Spanish, French and American touristsonce filled the winding alleys of Sanaa's old quarter, drawn byYemen's 2,500-year-old history and unique architecture.
But a spate of attacks on foreigners is driving visitorsaway and souvenir shop owner Hussain Abdel Moghni says the onlytourists who come to Yemen these days are "adventurers".
"We had more than 3,000 tourists in the old city before,but they fell to 600 after the attack on the Spanish tourists,"said Abdel Moghni referring to a July 2007 explosion whichkilled seven Spanish nationals.
Now, since shells were fired this month at a residentialcomplex housing Americans and other Westerners, there have beenno more than half a dozen tourists, he added.
"The tourists who are here now are the adventurers. Beinghere is a matter of life or death," he said.
Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack on theresidential compound -- in which no-one was hurt -- and for amortar attack that missed the U.S. embassy last month butwounded 13 girls at a nearby school.
A blast also shook an area near the offices of a Canadianoil company on Thursday.
In January, gunmen ambushed two tourist vehicles in Shibamand killed two Belgian women.
The seven Spanish tourists were killed in a blast at theQueen of Sheba temple in the volatile eastern province ofMarib.
ANCIENT SITES
One of the poorest countries outside Africa, Yemen has beentrying to encourage tourism and draw foreign visitors toancient sites such as the Biblical-era temple and the 16thcentury towers of Shibam, dubbed the "Manhattan of the desert".
But despite its wealth of attractions, from cool mountains,to Red Sea and Arabian Sea coasts, wild valleys and ancientruins, tourism accounts for only 1.5-2 percent of Yemen's GDP.
The Tourism Ministry, set up only in 2006, faces an uphilltask to fulfil its target of attracting one million tourists by2010.
"Five German tourists who were supposed to arrive thisweek, cancelled their booking after the attack... Every timethere is an attack, tourist numbers decrease," says Abdul Wahedal-Hemiaree, manager of a 22-room hotel in Sanaa.
"This time last year, the hotel was almost full but now,there is almost nobody," he added, walking among the emptytables of the hotel's restaurant.
The ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, Yemen is seen in theWest as a haven for al Qaeda militants, dozens of whom arejailed for attacks on Western targets.
Kidnappings of Westerners by tribesmen trying to pressurethe state into building rural roads also put visitors off.Foreigners need Interior Ministry permits to travel outsideSanaa, a measure authorities say is meant to protect them.
"What we are seeing now is a war on the economy ... bythese attackers," Abdel Moghni said.
"Tourists are now afraid to come to Yemen, especially theAmericans because they are concerned they are being targeted,"he said, pointing to a picture of him with an American tourist."See, he wants to come again but he can't."
(Editing by Lin Noueihed and Richard Balmforth)
