Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Influx of visitors boosts commercial activity
The holy city of Madinah is currently witnessing an influx of visitors who are expected to exceed two million during the months of Sha'aban and Ramadan.
- By Mariam Al Hakeem Correspondent
- Published: 23:01 August 14, 2008
Riyadh: The holy city of Madinah is currently witnessing an influx of visitors who are expected to exceed two million during the months of Sha'aban and Ramadan.
This seasonal influx of visitors coming from other parts of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries in particular, has boosted all commercial activities in the city, particularly at shopping centres and hotels near the central area of the city.
Some observers believe that the hotels around the holy mosque will witness intense activity this year as Ramadan coincides with the summer vacation in all GCC states. The director general of Umrah Affairs at the Ministry of Haj in Madinah, Mohammad Abdul Rahman Al Bijawi told Gulf News that the hotels in the central area surrounding the Prophet's mosque witnessed a steep increase in the reservation of rooms.
According to him, most of the hotels announced since the beginning of the current Hijri calendar that they were closing reservations up to the end of Ramadan, after the rate of occupation rose to 100 per cent. He pointed out that reservations in all the other four and five star hotels range between 90 and 95 per cent, thanks to an increase of 17 per cent in the number of visitors compared to the same period last year.
More than 2.1 million visitors have already arrived in the city since the beginning of Umrah season on the 15th of Rabi Al Awal [March 23] and up to the first day of Sha'aban [August 2]. This number is expected to exceed 3.7 million by the end of Ramadan.
Pointing out that more than 2.2 million visas were issued by the Ministry of Haj for Umrah performers since the beginning of the Umrah season and up to the second week of Sha'aban, he said 333,701 Umrah performers are expected to arrive in the coming two weeks. Meanwhile, Abdul Qader Al Hazmi, a hotel manager in Madinah noted that the rental rates in hotel units increased remarkably during this season, because of the increasing demand. According to him, the rate of increase rose from 50 per cent to 80 per cent.
Observers attributed the increase to the implementation of the fourth phase of the development project in the Central Area, which included destruction of more than 80 buildings with a total capacity of more than 35,000 beds.
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