Jeddah-Dammam-Amlak

The tourism accommodation sector in both the Western Region (Mecca, Jeddah) and the Eastern Region (Dammam) saw a rise in hotel occupancy rates, peaking at 90 percent,during spring break, as many families struggled to find suitable accommodations during the holiday period.

High Demand
A comprehensive tour of both the Western and Eastern Regions revealed the extent of overcrowding in tourist accommodations (hotels, furnished apartments, chalets), with numerous families who had flocked to the two regions from various parts of the Kingdom, in addition to the influx of many visitors and tourists from neighboring countries.
Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Omari, Executive Director of the General Authority for Tourism and Antiquities in the Makkah Region, explained that the Authority’s inspection teams observed a significant proportion of furnished accommodation facilities that were either unlicensed or lacked the necessary security andand public health requirements. These violations include failure to comply with the Authority’s regulations and procedures, as well as failure to provide quality services at regulated prices, in addition to violations of the specified pricing guidelines.
Al-Omari said: The Authority is responsible for regulating the tourist accommodation sector to bring it under the regulatory umbrella, ensuring that accommodation services in the Kingdom meet international service standards—first through licensing, followed by a classification of the services provided to guests in exchange for a fair price, thereby ensuring fairness in competition and service based on each criterion, the guest’s desired level of service, and their financial means, explaining that occupancy rates in the tourism accommodation sector are subject to supply and demand, which depend on seasons and seasonal holidays. For example, in the city of Makkah, these rates generally differ from those in other areas, as Makkah is visited by pilgrims and visitors to the Grand Mosque for Umrah andnear the Sacred House of God, whereas Jeddah and Taif are visited by tourists for family vacations, business, leisure, and to enjoy events and festivals. Given the seasonality facing the tourism accommodation sector—which is linked to school breaks—the occupancy rate is currently rising significantly, and the occupancy rate in Jeddah is expected to exceed 90 percent, while in Mecca it is expected to reach about 60to 70 percent, rising the closer the accommodation is to the Holy Mosque, while Taif will see a relative increase during this period due to the vacation coinciding with the upcoming Rose Festival.
The Authority’s Plans
Regarding the Authority’s plans during the current holiday, Al-Omari stated that ”we are operating under an approved plan across all Authority branches aimed at developing the tourism industry through institutional collaboration with our partners in the public and private sectors—whether in the area of the tourism calendar and various events, or in monitoring other services, in addition to matters related to accommodations—such as licensing, classification, periodic inspections, price monitoring, and so on—as well as other activities related to what the Authority licenses, including the operations of travel and tourism agencies, tour operators, and tour guides. The Authority operates according to a pre-established plan that takes into account peak seasons and holidays, and it has a monitoring team that works continuously and coordinates with other relevant government oversight agencies. When an incident or complaint is received that falls within the Authority’s jurisdiction and oversight, these teams are dispatched to the field, equipped with all necessary tools, official reports, and devices to directly monitor and document the situation and attempt to resolve it as quickly as possible.
Al-Omari highlighted the efforts of Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Governor of the Makkah Region and Chairman of the region’s Tourism Development Council, and his consistent guidance on the need to enforce regulations firmly and decisively against tourism violations, with the aim of regulating tourist accommodation services and improving the quality of tourism services for citizens and residents in the region.

Violations and Complaints
Al-Omari called on citizens to report any violations or complaints related to tourist accommodation facilities, noting that the Tourism Authority is ready to assist those affected, emphasizing the need for hotels and furnished residential units to comply with the instructions and procedures of the Authority and Civil Defense, and to display approved price lists at the reception desk so that guests are aware of room rates and service charges.
Tourism Authority
It is worth noting that the General Authority for Antiquities and Tourism recently confirmed that it is awaiting the issuance of new government decisions to support the financing of tourism projects and services, which will help curb price increases. The Authority noted that this year is an exceptional one for tourism, as all sectors of the tourism industry have stabilized, after having been fragmented and scattered due to the lack of a unified body to coordinate these sectors,and that the package of anticipated decisions from the government stems from its belief in the importance of this sector and its role as a pillar of the national economy and a provider of job opportunities for citizens across the Kingdom, especially since the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince—may God protect them—have focused the decisions that serve domestic tourism primarily on local tourists and on developing this major economic sector to meet the growing demand from citizens and provide the sector with the necessaryessential investments, as well as a system of services and infrastructure led by the state and supported by the private sector to enhance the quality of service.
Crowded Beaches
Many families who went on vacation to the Eastern and Western regions were unable to find lodging, so they resorted to spending long hours at beach huts and the ”corniche,” and some of these families stayed in the chalets for several days due to the overcrowding in hotels and furnished apartments, some of which took advantage of the situation to double their rates.