JEDDAH: A number of citizens and visitors have expressed regret over the failure of this year’s Jeddah Ghair summer festival, which witnessed a great relapse whether in the number of attendants or activities while at the same time people were being given inaccurate statistics about the number of visitors.
Sami Nawwar, the director of the municipality’s cultural affairs, attributed the failure to the inadequacy of funds allotted for the festival in addition to the unwillingness of a number of businesses to sponsor the activities of the festival.
He said Jeddah Mayor Adel Faqieh had given clear instructions to avoid similar mistakes in the future and to look from now for alternative sources to provide finances for next summer’s festival.
“The municipality has tried its level best to prepare locations suitable to the residents and visitors of Jeddah to entertain themselves at the minimum cost,” he said, adding that there had been some success in this regard in northern Obhur, home to most of the city’s seaside resorts and the inlet where water sports often take place.
Nawwar also said mobile folklore and artistic groups, including foreign ones, participated in the festival and added that show locations were also established at the Jeddah traditional area.
Municipal Council Chairman Tarik Fadak told Arab News that the council would undertake a role in all Jeddah future activities.
“The council had no time before to discuss the issue of festivals and summer activities. It was preoccupied by other issues, such as construction regulations, pedestrian flyovers, concrete factories and others,” he said.
He added that the council never scrutinized the statistics about the number of visitors it had received from the municipality.
“But in the future we will definitely do,” he reiterated.
Abdullah Marae Binmahfouz, deputy chairman of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, refuted suggestions that the tourism festival this year was a failure. He said Jeddah Ghair was successful in realizing its objectives in terms of the number of visitors and financial returns. He said the festival was expected to generate revenue of more than SR3.5 billion, distributed among the hospitality, shopping, recreation and transport sectors. He said the festival that continued for 37 days had met the needs of all sections of society by conducting more than 250 programs at the Corniche, markets, shopping malls and recreation centers.
