Makkah realty investment hits 400b riyals as pilgrims increase

Riyadh: Investments in hotels and housing units for pilgrims to Makkah amounted to more than 400 billion Saudi riyals last year, according to some estimates.

The holy city receives more than five million pilgrims every year.

It is estimated that this year's Umrah season, due to start in March, will generate 20 billion riyals from four million Umrah performers arriving from 140 countries.

Shuja Al Zaidi, director general of Makkah Hilton Towers - overlooking the Haram of Makkah - said the tariff for a room for a single night will be 3,000 riyals. A single night in a suite costs 14,000 riyals.

Despite Makkah having 2,000 hotels, including 10 five-star, and more than 7,000 other accommodation facilities, booking rooms continues to be a problem, Al Zaidi said.

He said that occupancy in these hotels reaches 100 per cent during Ramadan and the Haj season.

He noted there are some hotels in Makkah where the booking for the next year begins immediately after Ramadan or the Haj seasons.

The rate for a room in the Makkah Hilton does not exceed 48,000 riyals for a month during the Haj season. For a suite overlooking the Haram, the rate for a single night during the last ten days of Ramadan is between 14,000 and 30,000 riyals, he said.

Al Zaidi said real estate investment in Makkah is growing rapidly due to the increasing number of pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors.

Operation plan

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Haj is expected to receive this week the operation plan for this year's Umrah season. The ministry will also begin receiving visa applications from Umrah service companies.

Ali Naqoor, an expert in Haj and Umrah economics, said the official statistics show that the number of Umrah performers is increasing year after year.

He said the number of Umrah performers is expected to reach more than eight million in 2010.

The number of Umrah performers during Ramadan constitutes 36.3 per cent of the total, while the number in the months of Shaban and Rajab constitutes 21.5 and 14.3 per cent respectively.

In the month of Jamad Thani the number of pilgrims constitutes 12.5 per cent of Umrah performers and the remainder is distributed over the other months.