40 lodges shuttered in EP

Forty unlicensed lodging establishments have been ordered out of business, announced the Eastern Province Division of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).
In addition, 270 penalties have been issued against other tourist establishments found to have violated the regulations.
“Inspection teams conduct field visits to the lodging establishments in order to check their records, receipts, quality of service, and to make sure that they display their price lists, licenses and classification certificates issued by SCTA,” said Abd Al-Latif Al-Bunayyan, executive director of the Eastern Province Division of Touristic Development Agency (DTDA).
“The campaign included visits to furnished apartment units by an inspection team, which found a number of unlicensed units, in addition to some units that were overpricing their rates. Some of them lacked licenses from the municipality, Civil Defense Department, or SCTA. These inspection teams seek to find value added and quality services in these establishments,” he said.
He also said that DTDA started implementing an “invisible visitor” program in order to gauge levels of service and cleanliness.
“The results obtained through this program will have a direct bearing on the classification of the establishment,” he said.
There are 92 licensed hotels in the Eastern Province. There are also 630 furnished apartment units and 14 sea resorts.