The Jeddah governorate, under the supervision of Prince Mishaal bin Majed, has ramped up efforts to promote tourism in Jeddah in particular and the Kingdom in general.

Different organizations from the public and private sectors have organized different exhibitions and cultural programs for Umrah pilgrims to promote domestic tourism.

A number of Umrah pilgrims from different countries are enjoying the Jeddah tours everyday, where they go to the Balad district, the famous Jeddah Corniche and other places with their tour operators.

“I came from Turkey with my group, and our tour operator brought us to the Jeddah Corniche, the famous Red Sea beach of Jeddah, and we also visited the famous Al Balad district. It was a beautiful experience. The people of Jeddah are very friendly and hospitable,” said Amir Berkent.

Asleem Mustaneer, a pilgrim from Indonesia, told Arab News that they loved going to Jeddah beach and having a chance to perform Maghrib at Fatima Mosque at the Corniche. They met local people, did some shopping at Al-Balad and had the chance to see the historical Jeddah area, he said.

“We loved the stay in Makkah where we offered our prayers in the Grand Mosque, did Umrah and fulfilled our wish of coming to the Kingdom. Every Muslim in the world wants to come to Makkah. I would like to come again to perform Haj. From here, we will go to Madinah to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque, and we will spend a day or two there,” he said.

Mustaneer praised the efforts of the Saudi government for facilitating pilgrims and giving them the chance to tour Jeddah as well.

The “Umrah Plus” tour program allows pilgrims to visit the Kingdom’s tourist resorts. It was launch by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) with the cooperation of the Foreign and Interior Ministries some months ago.

According to reports, more than 65 countries benefit from the program.

Tourism is a major contributor to the Saudi economy; tourism industry observers said that project investments in Saudi travel and tourism stood at SR150 billion in 2014 wherein SR50 billion came from domestic tourism and SR100 billion from inbound tourism.

Tourism, especially the one connected with Haj and Umrah, is a major source of revenue and an economic mainstay.