They claim many of these furnished apartments and resorts do not meet the minimum requirements of tourists.
“Though we have noticed a slight improvement in these furnished apartments, their services are still far from our expectations,” Abdul Rahman Al-Jassas, executive director of the tourism development department in Riyadh, told the newspaper.
He said the SCTA was not monitoring the performance of the tourist facilities to catch and punish those who are not maintaining standards, but rather to give them a chance to improve their services.
“We welcome complaints from tourists on our toll free number: 800-755-0000,” he said.
Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi, dean of the faculty of tourism and hotels at the Technical College in Jeddah, said the SCTA inspections would reassure tourists that someone was looking after their interests.
Al-Ghamdi said the inspections would drive most owners of furnished apartments and other tourist establishments to upgrade their level of services to attract more customers.
Abdullah bin Saeed, marketing manager at a hotel in Riyadh, said the recent inspections organized by the SCTA were a “wake-up call” to tourist establishments to make more efforts to improve their services to tourists.
Ahmad Al-Muzan, an executive director of a tourist company, could not agree more. “The inspections have improved the level of services for the benefit of tourists. They have also helped maintain prices at a reasonable level,” he said.
