Final classification of hotels will be announced by the year end, Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Secretary General of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has said. He said the most important factor that will help in the organization and stability of charges is completion of the classification for hotels, specifying the level of charges for each class and making it incumbent upon every accommodation facility to display the charges clearly at the entrance of the facility. He pointed out that the SCTA has started specifying the class of each hotel according to the new criteria based on the stars system implemented worldwide. All the hotels have been given a grace period to rectify their situation or accept the classes they have been placed in. He said the SCTA has started executing the same plan for evaluation and classification of furnished apartments since April. He added that they started this year the classification of hotels and tourist residential units. Prince Sultan was hopeful that the government would approve the financing program for tourist accommodation. That way the private sector will be a catalyst for different tourism activities. Tourism has got to be competitive and this includes sectors like airlines, road network, rest houses etc., he said. The SCTA, he said, has already agreed on a package of proposals that would take into consideration the investors' interests and the protection of consumers' rights. In order to solve this issue, the SCTA has taken several measures aiming at enabling tourists to get services commensurate with what they spend. Prince Sultan called on all investors and officials in the accommodation sector to cooperate with the SCTA in its efforts to upgrade its sectors and boost domestic tourism through setting suitable rates for the services provided and abiding by the SCTA conditions and criteria for the quality of service. This is with the objective of contributing in encouraging domestic tourism “which is a national responsibility that all must shoulder”. The SCTA has made it incumbent upon all hotels and furnished apartments to display the charges at the entrance of furnished apartments and hotels depending on the number of rooms and whether they are furnished apartments or villas. Article 17 of the Hotels Regulation states that “Every hotel must display clearly in Arabic and English or French the fixed price list for accommodation and other hotel services in every hotel room and at the reception besides having the hotel's permit and a sign showing the hotel's class”.
