The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has given permission for hotels to increase their charges by 30 percent as of June 1 until the end of September and during official holidays except weekends. Simultaneously, the tourism body has allowed increase in charges of furnished apartments by 50 percent during the same period. The tourism body has also asked hotels and furnished apartments to provide it with the marketing offers extended to clients, Dr. Salah Al-Bakheet, Deputy Chairman for Investment at the SCTA said. SCTA and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) officials are closely monitoring hotel and furnished apartment charges and the services offered by them. “Furnished apartments and hotels are under our supervision and no one will be allowed to tamper with the list of charges,” said Mazen Batterjee, JCCI Vice President. “Erring service providers will be dealt with strictly with the imposition of hefty fines,” he warned. According to the SCTA website, five million people visited Jeddah in 2009, with 3.4 million visiting during the summer vacation alone, adding an estimated SR11.9 billion to the local economy, a three percent increase over 2008. Recently SCTA undertook reevaluation of all hotels and furnished flats in Makkah and Madina which represents 70 percent of the total accommodation facilities in the Kingdom. Furnished flats and hotels in Makkah and Madina are expected to be classified by the end of 2010. According to SCTA statistics, 20 percent of Jeddah visitors prefer to stay in hotels, 50 percent in furnished apartments and 19 percent in private residences with relatives or friends. – Okaz/SG – With additional reporting by Naif Masrahi __
