DAMMAM, 9 December 2002 — The Eastern Province witnessed a big drop in the number of visitors during Eid holidays this year compared to previous years. This has brought down turnover for businesses and left rooms at hotels and furnished apartments unoccupied.
Although the Dammam Municipality and the tourism committee of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry had projected higher movement of tourists from neighboring cities as well as from Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar this season, the low turnout during the last three days of Eid holidays caused great concern among owners of shopping malls, amusement centers, hotels and restaurants.
The authorities have made special arrangements at the Half Moon Beach area as well as at Dammam Corniche to accommodate large numbers of picnickers during the holidays.
At Half Moon Beach, a massive tent city props up during Eid holidays every year. But this year the beach wore a deserted look.
The cultural programs organized by various groups also did not draw many visitors. Roadside vendors as well as cafeterias in the vicinity confirmed very low sales in the past three days.
The scene at Dammam Corniche, where mainly locals and people from Riyadh get together, was not very different. During previous seasons it was hard to get a spot on the Corniche, but this year it was not the case. At best the beach had a normal weekend crowd.
The worst affected were the furnished apartments, which used to do a roaring business in the season. Rates go up multifold and it used to be difficult to find any accommodation during the period. A one-bedroom suite, which can be rented for SR100 or SR150 in off-seasons, used to cost SR400 or more during Eid.
Furnished apartments in both Dammam and Alkhobar reported low occupancy and a stiff competition which forced them to cut down tariffs. “It is during the two Eid holidays that we cover for the whole year. This year it was a very big disappointment. We did not get even 50 percent of the business that we did last year,” said Abdul Hadi Al-Dossary, owner of a furnished apartment in Alkhobar.
Although five-star hotels did not reveal their occupancy rates during the holidays, rooms were available throughout.
Shopping malls also reported low sales despite their special Eid programs and promotional schemes.
Al-Rashid Mall, Alkhobar Mall and Waha Mall had all lined up cultural and recreation programs for Eid but the crowd was much smaller than expected. Large shops remain closed during three days of Eid but the medium size shops, especially those selling electronic gadgets, reported very low sales.
Amusement parks fared comparatively better. Al-Hokair in Dammam, Prince Muhammad Amusement Park in Half Moon Beach and the indoor Toy Town reported moderate business but admitted that turnout was much below their expectations.
Businessmen say that it is important that the tourism committee should chalk out special packages and programs to attract domestic tourists as well as people from the neighboring countries.
“If we want to portray the Eastern Province as a tourist destination we have to give such a look to the region and offer attractive packages,” said Abdullah Ali Al-Ghamdi, owner of a fast-food chain.
