The council’s chairman, Hussain bin Alawi Baaqeel, recommended the setting up of a tripartite committee consisting of representatives of the Jeddah municipality, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and the Civil Defense to tighten the grip on the private amusement parks and to make sure of the safety of equipment there in the light of the overcrowding during the Eid vacation.

“Taking advantage of the rarity of public amusement parks, the private parks along the Corniche and inside the residential quarters increased their prices by more than 200 percent,” he said.

Baaqeel went on to say that the increase in prices was not only limited to the games but also covered the food and drinks sold inside the parks.

“The spots for families in the parks such as cabins and chalets also witnessed price increases. Some of the park owners see the Eid as an opportunity to increase their profits,” he said.

Council member Bassam Al-Akhdar called for strict control of prices especially since most families go out to the parks to spend time with their children.

He asked the SCTA to set the prices of tickets for games in the private amusement parks and said the municipality had to tighten its control on them.

Al-Akhdar asked the Commerce Ministry and the JCCI to begin imposing gradual punishments on private amusement parks beginning with fines and ending in complete closure.

He said residents were obliged to go to the private parks because of the scarcity of public ones which are established and supervised by the municipality. He was hopeful that the new Mayor Hani Abu Ras would endorse a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate all the public parks in the city and to establish a national Safari park in addition to special parks for families and youth.