An emergency meeting of 60 Makkah Umrah companies was held Wednesday to address the bankruptcy they say faces “90 percent of hotel and Umrah firms in Makkah and Madina” while Madina hotel operators project losses of 70 percent for the Ramadan Umrah season. Attendees at the Makkah meeting who made up around 90 percent of Umrah firms called upon the authorities to urgently tackle swine flu and visas issues they say are behind huge fall in the number of visitors. Some companies in the two cities, they said, faced losses of over SR1 billion due to the pilgrim quota system and failure to extend Umrah visas until mid-Ramadan. Firm owners also worried that losses would continue to increase if authorities failed to act on the spread of swine flu, and made direct appeals to the Ministry of Haj, the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities and the Ministry of Health. Fahd Al-Wudhainani, owner of a firm operating in the Makkah central zone, urged the Ministry of Health to set up a joint chamber with Umrah companies, hotel operators and a third party such as the Ministry of Haj to discuss swine flu and the protection of pilgrims, many of whom are canceling plans to perform Haj and Umrah this year. “We are ready to provide flu vaccine to every pilgrim who arrives in the Kingdom,” said Ibrahim Al-Zahrani a Makkah hotel operator. Al-Zahrani further blamed the media for creating a scare and failing to note that Makkah has one of the lowest rates of swine flu in the Kingdom. The companies also blamed authorities for approving hotels and then delaying the provision of permits, leading to numerous contract cancellations. An opinion poll conducted at the meeting showed that occupancy rates during Ramadan of this year were expected to reach between 30 and 40 percent for Umrah pilgrims. Owners of the 60 companies at the meeting said they were close to declaring bankruptcy. Hotels in the central zone of Madina, meanwhile, say they face losses of over 70 percent during the Ramadan Umrah season due to fears over swine flu. Marwan Hifdhi, deputy head of the Hotel and Tourism Committee at Madina's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said hotels in the vicinity of the Prophet's Mosque at this time would normally be expected to be completely full. “Losses at hotels and stores in the central zone during this month have been huge by any standards,” Hifdhi said. “Most tourist and Umrah companies have suffered great losses that will only increase in Ramadan due to cancellations.” In response, hotels of less than five stars have been offering price reductions. “Even some hotels with five-star services are offering rooms for SR450 per night.” Hoteliers confirm that room prices have gone down by as much as 50 percent. “A 300-riyal booking can now be had for 150,” said Nami Al-Amri, head of Ilyas Hotels. “Large numbers of visitors and pilgrims from Tunisia, for example, have canceled their arrangements and most local stores are being severely affected, with some even struggling now to pay their rent.”
