Tourism officials in the Kingdom are doing their best to improve tourism and build an appropriate infrastructure for it. We have read some good suggestions and criticism of the plans for tourism. More recently, we have heard about the Summer Umrah program. This particular program would be better if it were directed to the local people. Students are on vacation and it is a perfect time for them and their families to visit the holy mosques. We see large numbers of people visiting Makkah and Madinah and they often have a hard time finding rooms in the two cities.
Personally, I think that the Summer Umrah program should not target those outside the Kingdom for the following reasons:
The difficulties of finding a hotel room in the center of either Makkah or Madinah.
The difficulties arising from excessive summer heat which is a problem for many visitors from outside the Kingdom.
The difficulties in making airline reservations in the summer since so many of the Kingdom’s residents make summertime reservations for travel abroad.
The program should include both airline and hotel reservations. The program has been well-financed but it conflicted with the Kingdom’s other summer activities. I suggest that the Umrah program be moved to another time when the weather is pleasant and it is easy to make airline and hotel reservation. Only then will we be able to say that the Umrah program has achieved its goals.
