Madinah hotel occupancy rate plummets

In an emergency meeting, hotel managers and landlords of residential units in Madinah agreed that they need more effective marketing strategies in the hospitality sector. The meeting was called by the Tourism Commission at the Madinah Chamber of Commerce.
The parties said that there is a need for more collective solutions in order to increase the hotel occupancy rate.
The revenues stand at SR2 billion from 223 hotels and 42 residential units that comprise more than 50,000 rooms.
Hotel managers and landlords are seeking to boost internal tourism and attract Umrah visitors from the neighboring Gulf countries to stem a 70 percent drop in occupancy rate as compared to last year.
The meeting was the fourth held by the Tourism Commission. Present at the meeting were Abd Al-Ghani Al-Ansari, a board member, and Muhammad Ash Sharif, secretary-general of Madinah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Al-Ansari offered some guidelines to address the declining occupancy rate in Madinah. These dealt mainly with the need for collective marketing, the adoption of a marketing campaign and a road map for expansion, in which the hospitality sector responds to the developments in order to boost internal and Gulf tourism.
Representatives from other commercial and industrial sectors attended the meeting. They were concerned about the declining profits, albeit indirectly, because low occupancy rates have an impact on shopping at commercial stores and places that sell foodstuffs, clothes, as well as means of transportation.
Khalid Al-Duqul, a businessman, urged that short-term plans for Ramadan, as well as long-term plans for next year, should be implemented.
“We need to do marketing campaign for the Gulf countries,” he said.
Amjad al-Muhammadi, member of the board, agreed. “We need to coordinate with Makkah Chamber in this regard, in order to arrive at coordinated solutions and exchange views regarding the matter,” he said.
Marwan Al-Hifthi, a member of the Tourism Commission, suggested that an effective mechanism be sought with airlines, Umrah and tourism companies, as well as marketing these concepts.
Sharif said that there must be a focus on the internal market.
“I believe that the low occupancy rate will persist for many seasons, due to the expansion work being carried out in and around the two holy mosques. The parties must also work on the perceived high hotel rates in Madinah,” he said.
At the end of the meeting, there was a recommendation to draw up a task force to follow up on the recommendations agreed upon at the meeting. Sharif urged that the minutes of the meeting be completed soon and submitted to the people in charge for further action.