JEDDAH – Jeddah Governor Prince Mishal Bin Majed, who is also chairman of the local Tourism Development Council, is scheduled to open on Monday the Jeddah Shopping Festival. This will be the second festival held under the motto “Haya Jeddah” this year. The venue of the ceremony is Lazurde Hall at Park Hyatt Hotel. The ceremony will attract a number of officials, businessmen and people concerned with tourism and recreation activities. The festival's duration is one month and will be held at six mega malls and over 2,000 shops in Jeddah. Mazen Batterjee, deputy chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said Jeddah is ready to receive Saudi and Gulf families. City authorities expect 1.5 million tourists to visit Jeddah during the festival. They also expect the tourism sector to rake in around SR2 billion during the month. Batterjee said Jeddah will offer big discounts and prize draws for shoppers. Apart from shopping, visitors and residents will enjoy the beauty of the beaches and the new northern Corniche. Adnan Hussein Mandourah, secretary-general of JCCI, said the festival will focus on shopping and help make Jeddah city the premier destination for shopping in the Kingdom. He said this would be achieved with support from the retail sector and other tourism sectors like hotels, recreation facilities and resorts through attractive offers and creating awareness among the festival's target audience. He said the aim was to attract Saudi families, Umrah pilgrims and residents. – SG/SPA
