JEDDAH: Licenses have been issued for the construction of 500 hotels near the Grand Mosque in Makkah, including one with 5,000 rooms, reported sister publication Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday.
Economic experts told the newspaper they expected revenues from Haj and Umrah to cross the SR100 billion ($27 billion) barrier in the coming years due to the availability of extra accommodation.
Saad Al-Qurashi, chairman of the committee for Haj and Umrah auxiliary services at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the provision of such a large number of hotels with numerous rooms and suites will help accommodate the growing number of pilgrims from inside Saudi Arabia and abroad.
"Currently, the largest hotel in Makkah does not have more than 1,000 rooms, while the new ones will have many more. One of them will have 5,000 rooms," he said.
Last year's Haj season was seen to be the most profitable yet due to the large number of pilgrims, which exceeded 3 million.
Commercial activities during the Haj season ensure great revenues for Jeddah and Makkah, especially from simple goods such as beads and prayer rugs that make profits of about SR2 billion annually, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. The newspaper added that hotels and furnished apartments usually buy 40 percent more furniture than usual as part of preparations for the Haj season.
Investments in furniture are estimated to be around SR4 billion, with 66 furniture factories in the Kingdom.
Member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry's committee for furniture Yahya Hassan Maqbool said artifacts, especially those containing photos of the two holy mosques, top the list of items pilgrims go for.
He said after completing their Haj, pilgrims come to Jeddah to do shopping, thus boosting business in the city.
© Arab News 2011
