JEDDAH, 23 October 2006 — Major tourist resorts in the western city of Taif are up and ready to welcome holidaymakers including pilgrims during the Eid Al-Fitr holidays.

“We expect at least 300,000 pilgrims who came to Makkah for Umrah during Ramadan to visit Taif resorts during the holidays,” said Khaleel Bahadur, a member of Taif Tourism Promotion Committee.

Bahadur, who is also a member of the National Committee for Haj and Umrah and owner of Grand Bahadur Hotel in Hada, said a number of tourist companies and tour operators were organizing trips to resorts in Taif, Hada and Shifa.

He described Grand Bahadur as one of the largest tourism projects in Taif, adding that it has prepared about 70 programs to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr. “We expect a good number of foreign pilgrims, especially those who stay in Makkah for a few days after Ramadan,” he added.

He said it is a good opportunity for foreign pilgrims to see and enjoy tourist resorts in Taif as well as to understand Saudi culture and traditions. “The programs at our hotel, for example, includes Saudi folklore dances from the Hijaz region and a presentation of traditional marriage ceremony of Makkans,” he explained. Other programs in the store include games and competitions.

Bahadur said tourists could also see the beauty of Hada Mountains by traveling in cable cars belonging to the Taif Investment Company. “By sitting in the cable cars, they can also see the route tracked by caravans traveling between Makkah and Taif in the past.”

Abdul Rahman Al-Safdi, an organizer of Umrah trips in Damascus, Syria, said the pilgrims who came in his group had expressed their desire to spend one or two days in Hada, which is known for its pleasant and healthy climate. Last summer he had taken a group of pilgrims to Grand Bahadur where they stayed for a day just by paying an additional amount of SR50 each to their Umrah package.

Nazeerul Islam, a Malaysian, said he visited Hada after performing Umrah last year. “I found the climate there very close to Genting highlands situated close to Kuala Lumpur,” he pointed out.