Until very recently, the month of Ramadan was considered a low season for hospitality business across the Kingdom except in Makkah and Madinah, but not anymore!
I very well remember how hotels used to encourage their employees to make good use of their vacations during the holy month. This has become a thing of past now because of the current ‘Iftar’ culture. Almost all of the reputed hotels and restaurants offer special Iftar deals. Talking to many executive chefs working with top hotels in Riyadh, I learned that they remain more tied-up at work during Ramadan than during the customary month for weddings following the holy month. According to them, a wedding dinner is leisurely spread out but an ‘Iftar’ dinner has to be served with all the customary items and serving 1,000 to 2,000 guests at a time is not an easy task. The ‘Iftar’ culture has come to stay and it keeps the hoteliers smiling broader too! Who said Ramadan is a ‘low season’? Well, not anymore! — S.H. Moulana, Riyadh
Iftar culture
