month Jeddah Shopping Festival (JSF) will kick off during the upcoming Spring break. Officials of the JSF, along with Sheikh Saleh Kamel, the incumbent Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, announced the grand plan at a press conference at the JCCI headquarters Monday. Mohammed Hafez, the Chairman of the Jeddah Shopping Festival, told the Saudi Gazette that the festival, to be held on Jan. 18-Feb. 17, 2012, is a good opportunity to further improve the tourism business in the Western region through business exchanges. Hafez, who is also the CEO of Al Sawani Group, further said that the JSF, under the initiative of the JCCI through its Jeddah Marketing Board, has been approved by Crown Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior. The chairman of the JSF also said shopping malls and retailers have expressed their interest in the festival, adding that big discounts on goods are at stake during the period. Al Sawani Group, a leading retailer in the Kingdom, will definitely offer around 50 percent to 70 percent discount, he noted. Moreover, the timing of the festival is appropriate, considering a fair climate during the spring season which is conducive to more visitors from the neighboring GCC countries to perform Umrah during the period, he added. Besides catering to shoppers, various events have been lined up for families as well during the festival, from shows to sport
