JEDDAH, 30 June 2005 — Organizers of the Jeddah Summer Festival say that more than 200 programs have been planned for this year’s tourism festival.
Organizers said some of the programs are being held for the first time. They include exhibition of “Red Sea Secrets,” freestyle wrestling, appearances by famous cartoon personalities and music concerts.
Analysts predict a 100 percent increase in revenues from the two-month-long festival compared to last year’s more than SR2 billion.
They attributed the potential increase to the trend of many Saudis to spend their holidays inside the Kingdom instead of visiting foreign tourist destinations, especially those in the US and Europe.
The tremendous growth in the number of Umrah pilgrims is another factor, the analysts said, adding that they expected a 40 percent rise in the number of Umrah pilgrims this year.
Muhammad Al-Shareef, secretary-general of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said this year’s festival includes cultural, artistic, social, marketing, sports and heritage events.
“We have also planned a number of special programs and contests for children,” Al-Shareef said and emphasized that the festival was organized to promote domestic tourism and investments and strengthen national economy.
“The number of tourists and holidaymakers visiting Jeddah during the festival is on the increase,” he said quoting a study, adding that more than two million from inside and outside the Kingdom visited the city last year.
Al-Shareef indicated that the substantial growth in the number of tourists over the past years had encouraged businessmen to invest in a number of new tourism-related projects including hotels and tourist villages.
