Car rentals have shot up by 80 percent as tourists pour into the city for the Sumer Festival, according to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). “The city is huge and visitors rent cars to tour the malls, resorts, amusement parks, and restaurants,” said Saeed Bin Ali Al-Bassami, vice president of the Car Renting Committee (CRC) at JCCI. Car rental costs in the Kingdom are the lowest in the GCC region, he said. Daily rates vary from SR60 to 100 for small cars, SR130-260 for mid-sized cars, SR300-600 for big and luxury cars. CRC recently recommended that car rental companies use GPS to keep track of their luxurious cars. It costs around SR1,000 to instal the GPS device in a car. “GPS charge could be reduced if more companies use it,” said Al-Bassami. JCCI is studying a proposal to form a special panel comprising car renting companies and traffic police, so as to address the problem of people renting cars and wrecking them. General Ali Al-Sa'adi of Jeddah Police said the companies and police stations would coordinate through the panel so as to chase down such drivers and hold them accountable. The panel will also include specialists in assessing road accidents, estimating damages and determining fault ratio. Besides car rental firms, malls also report good business. Ahmad Sa'ad Al-Kabodi, manager of one of the biggest commercial centers here, said electronic goods, clothes, curios, wooden tools, and carpets were selling fast. Ahmad Afifi, marketing manager of a store in the busy downtown area of Balad, said the crowds were unusually large. Abdullah Al-Shareef, director of a hypermarket said they are offering “real discounts” this summer. __
