Saudis with limited income are a peeved lot this vacation, with beach houses and resorts charging high tariffs forcing them to spend the holidays at home.

While some do accept that high rentals can be expected during peak seasons, others believe that this limits festivities and enjoyment only for the rich.

“People with limited income like me dare not think of renting a private apartment by the beach during holiday seasons with the prices hitting the roof,” said Abdulraouf Mohammed, a salesman at a Jeddah bookstore. “I have never taken my wife and children on a vacation in my life, all we do is visit family members on holidays because of the price issue. All I ask for is a small studio where I can take my children to swim and enjoy outdoor activities without emptying my bank account,” he added.

As an alternative, Saudis go picnicking on Jeddah Corniche.

“I was thinking about renting a small rest house in Jeddah but when I looked at the prices, I thought it was insane. If I had actually done that, I would not have been able to pay bills for the next couple of months,” said marketer Ziad Turba.

“While passing by Jeddah Corniche one day, I saw how families gathered there and enjoyed the open air. I grabbed a carpet from home asked my wife to prepare snacks and invited my sister; we had a wonderful time while the children played with their bicycles. It cost me nothing and we really enjoyed our time,” he added.

According to businesswoman Kholoud Sadeg, local rental prices are the same as international prices. “This is the main reason why many people prefer to travel.

It costs almost the same, and when you travel, you have more entertainment options and the fact that you are spending your vacation outside the Kingdom in itself is a vacation,” she said.

“Saudi businessmen and rental property owners are very greedy. They raise prices to make high profits without realizing that this will only attract rich people who in any case want to spend their vacation abroad because they can afford it,” she added.

Meanwhile, Mustafa Kareem, manager of a Jeddah-based beach resort, said it is normal for tariffs to go up during holiday seasons.

“Our prices are constant throughout the peak season, but people don’t understand that this is the time when occupancy is high. It’s like any other resort in the world where they have high and low seasons,” he said.

“Even at high rates, we are usually fully booked during holidays and we have people on waiting lists willing to pay this price. Most of our guests book the property months in advance even before the holiday season.”