Tourists are finding it more and more difficult to find a place to stay because of a shortage of hotel rooms and furnished apartments. Many have resorted to sleeping in their cars while they stay in Jeddah. According to tourism statistics the number of visitors to the Jeddah increased by 10,000 people, a 16 percent increase from 2006. One Jeddah visitor drove from the Eastern Province with his wife and two children to spend their holidays in Jeddah but they were quickly faced with two problems. Sleep in the car or drive back home. Muhammed Ibrahim said he kept on roaming the streets looking for a place to sleep but no hotels were available. “The unbelievable part is that my only choice was to drive back to where I had just come from,” Ibrahim said. He said if there is such a large influx of tourists, and there are not enough hotels or apartments available, the government should allocate an area for camping on the Corniche. If there was a camping area, tourists would not be forced to wander for hours looking for a place to sleep, he said. Ali Ahmad Al-Hababi Al-Qahtani said he found an apartment after 12 hours of searching. The only apartment he could find had a broken toilet but he said he just needed a place to stay to let his family relax. Summer tourism has increased steadily with an increase in summer festivals from 12 in 2003 to 22 in 2004 representing a 67 percent increase. Local tourism trips reached 33.8 million totaling in 207.5 million nights spent in accommodation and an expenditure of SR34.6 billion. Inbound tourism reached 7.9 million trips accounting for 99.3 million nights and a total expenditure of SR 21.3 billion. – Okaz __
