JEDDAH, 29 July 2003 — Although the annual Jeddah Summer Festival has meant a month of entertainment and recreation thanks to some events, shoppers feel let down.

They say they expected shopping malls and outlets to offer discounts as a festival bonus to shoppers.

“I went to the Dubai summer festival in the last few years and I thought the local festival organizers would follow suit,” Adnan Faris, a middle-aged Saudi courier company executive, said yesterday at the Jeddah International Market.

“There are absolutely no discounts to mark the festival, or even otherwise,” he said. “Where is the incentive for shoppers? My experience with Dubai has been altogether different. There are a number of shops and outlets that offer huge discounts during the Dubai festival.”

Khalil Ibrahim, 45, a software engineer working in a company at Khalid ibn Waleed Road, encountered a similar experience. “I bought a pair of shoes from a shop in Balad for no discount. The shop assistant told me the owner did not offer any bargains. When I drew his attention to the ongoing summer festival, he said: ‘What festival are you talking about?’”

A survey of shopping malls and shops in Tahlia Street, Balad, and Jeddah International and Heraa international markets shows that some shops are giving discounts individually, but they have nothing to do with the festival.

Despite the festival, shopping has remained low-key in many shopping areas. There has been no effort on the part of malls or shops to entice shoppers with discounts.

In many shops goods are sold at fixed prices. “Shoppers come and ask me for discounts. Our owner doesn’t believe in offering discounts as a matter of principle, festival or no festival,” Abdul Ghafoor, 30, an Indian shop assistant at Jeddah International Market, said, adding he was not aware of any festival.

But the organizers of the festival — the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Ara Media Services — claim that festival incentives are being offered in many leading shops and shopping malls all over the city. “There are shops and shopping malls that are offering coupons against purchases, which will be included in draws planned toward the festival-end,” Hamid Sarhan said on behalf of AMS. “Outlets may not offer discounts, but what they do is to offer prizes through weekly or grand draws.”

Asked whether the festival has generated business for shopping malls, outlet owners and assistants said no. “There is no system of enlisting shops for offering discounts as part of the festival. What some malls and outlets are doing is taking advantage of the festival and offering prizes,” said Muhammad Al-Ghuraiby, 60, a shop owner at Heraa International Market. “Aside from individual outlets, managements of shopping malls have also organized prize-schemes for shoppers,” he added.

Despite the vacation season, when visitors are supposedly flocking into the city, a majority of shopping areas is empty of buyers. A visit to Balad, the city’s main shopping area, showed that there were many visitors but few buyers. “People come and inquire about prices and go away. There are very few who actually show interest in making purchases,” an expat shop assistant in a gold shop said.

“We were looking forward to the vacation season to boost our business, but that has not happened. We have done hardly 60 percent of business compared to the same period last year,” said Mohamed Hafiz, a middle-aged shop owner at Bab Sharif.