Top hotel in Jeddah talks about tourism sector in Jeddah

Heading for annual leave to Saudi Arabia – how does this sound? While many people might think travelling to the oil-rich conservative country is mostly for Muslims, little is known as Saudi Arabia being a cultural, adventurous, and shopping destination for all.

While the kingdom cannot compete with Egypt’s pyramids or Lebanon’s Greek and Roman temples, the most conservative Arab country has all the ingredients to experience a real oriental holiday, with bustling streets, Souqs, Arabic kitchens, hospitality of locals, and excursions to desert tents.

A first look at Saudi Arabia’s two biggest airports in Riyadh (in central Saudi Arabia) and Jeddah (Western region near the Red Sea), quickly that the kingdom is everything but isolated. Nearly all major European, American, and Asian carriers fly to the Kingdom. An increase in hotel rooms of 85 percent is expected over the next two years, which looks like a boom in the industry in Riyadh, and in general in Saudi Arabia “The tourism industry in Saudi Arabia has improved a lot in the past few years. Previously, there were some restrictions on the visas to visit Saudi Arabia, mainly because it is a pilgrimage center for the Muslims,” says Hossam Al-Gendy, the general manager at Holiday Inn in Jeddah Al-Salam, a leading hotel in Saudi Arabia and Jeddah.

“Statistics show, during the past 10 years (from 2004 to 2014), tourism in Jeddah has increased by approximately 75 percent”, he added. The Holiday Inn, Jeddah Al-Salam is a part of the IHG (intercontinental hotels group), under the umbrella of the Al-Hokair Group. Current renovation works will be completed in 2 to 3 years. “This hotel is considered to be one of the largest hotels in Jeddah, with more than 355 rooms” Al-Gendy points out. The majority of hotels average between 200 and 250 rooms.

Sometimes groups or huge families knock on the door and want to book 200 rooms in one take. While many hotel managers in Europe can only dream about such demand, “you can never give up 80% of the rooms to a one-shot group for a short time and then lose out on the business that comes to you on a day-to-day basis,” explains Al-Gendy.

While the desert offers safari tours with campfires and camel riding, the Red Sea coast is popular among yachting fans and divers. However, tourist visas are difficult to obtain on an individual basis.  Usually, a traveller to the kingdom must have an invitation of a public or private entity to pass the Saudi border. However, recently “SAGIA (Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority) started issuing visas to help businessmen visit Saudi Arabia,” says Al-Gendy.
The Saudi Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiques was founded in the year 2000. Its secretary general is H. H. Prince Sultan Bin Salman Al-Saud, a former Saudi air force pilot who became in 1985, at age 28, the first Arab and Muslim in space when he joined a NASA mission.

The commission’s job is to carefully open up the country to foreign guests, even to those who do not come for the minor pilgrimage to Mecca (also called Umrah) or the major pilgrimage travel, the more well-known Al-Haj. Because Al-Haj always occurs always from the 8th to the 12th of the last month Dhu Al-Haj of the Islamic moon calendar, the annual pilgrimage moves every year 10 days backwards in the Gregorian calendar. Any travel to Meccas off the aforementioned seasons is called Umrah.

During Al-Haj, no tourism and business travels are allowed to the Kingdom, as all energy of travel offices, hotels, and the Royal security personnel are focused on enabling millions of pilgrims from all over the world a smooth access to the two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Madinah.

“In Mecca the real estate market is booming”, says Dr. Bader Ibn Saedan, the general manager at Al Saedan Real Estate. “There is a very high demand in Mecca because of expanding the Grand Holy Mosque; the government has to demolish old buildings.”

That is why there is a lack of projects in Mecca in terms of hotels and residential. He adds, “Residential market in Mecca is being cornered by the demolition of housing and the housing shortage will continue for the next three or four years. Just to reach those negative figures, we need maybe three or four years to do construction in Mecca. We are participating in this, and so many other real estate developers are also re-building in Mecca, but we need more developments.”
Dr. Ibn Saedan says he was convinced that Mecca is really a huge market for the next five years. “When the Grand Mosque and the surrounding government projects are completed, the capacity of Mecca will be increased, which means more residential compounds and hotels are needed in Mecca for pilgrims to find places to spend a few days time during the pilgrimage, Ramadan, and all other seasons. Mecca is a seasonal market, but the season is becoming longer.”
In nearby Jeddah, which channels the bulk of all pilgrims, the city is divided into north and south. “80 percent of the hotels are located in the North, because all the businesses are located there.”

However, the South area with the Old City, still has a strong touristic value, especially for the Old City of Jeddah. A lot of people are interested in seeing the Old City of Jeddah.

Like Riyadh, Jeddah will soon get a metro line to ease traffic and to lure more travelers. Holiday Inn’s GM Al-Gendy recalls 10 years ago, everything was located at the center of Jeddah.  “But after the influx of population and the heavy traffic, there has been an expansion trend towards the north. Most of the companies are moving to the north to make more space within Jeddah. Besides, as I mentioned before, Metro Jeddah will be introduced in 2 to 3 years. This will facilitate all the transportation between north, south, west and east of Jeddah”, he says.

His hotel, the Holiday Inn- Jeddah Al-Salam was built over 35 years ago, and is currently one of the leading hotels in Saudi Arabia. “Initially, it was designed and built next to the old airport and the housing for Hajj pilgrims. At the time of building, it housed 319 rooms. Recently, we have increased it to 355 rooms.” But for Al-Gendy, hospitality is more than just a number game. “My first goal is to upgrade and achieve maximum guest satisfaction with the current condition. During the past 16 months, according to the IHG survey, our guest satisfaction has increased from 53 percent to 75 percent, with only 20 percent of the rooms renovated in the hotel.”

And he unveils a saving tip for pilgrims: “After people finish visiting Mecca and Medina, people have the opportunity to visit the shopping malls, as Jeddah is a little bit cheaper than Mecca and Medina for shopping.” 

The growing influx of tourists has also triggered financial services firms to adapt. “With Membership Rewards, our card members can earn points on virtually all their purchases which can be redeemed for a unique range of rewards, such as flights, hotel stays, retail vouchers, and luxury goods,” says Pryian Attygalle, says CEO at credit card firm American Express, Saudi Arabia.

Because of the fierce competition in the market which is dominated by VISA and Mastercard, “for us at American Express in Saudi Arabia, we concentrate very much on the high-net-worth consumers and corporates. These are two areas in which we are very strong and we have very unique products,” says Attygalle.

The Kingdom is becoming more open modern. Even Harley Davidson fans can gather in public for official biker meetings. The dynamic culture of Saudi Arabia surprises many Western visitors who expect a laid-back atmosphere due to the oil wealth. “You are always on your toes 24/7,” says Holiday Inn’s Hossam Al-Gendy. ”Because hospitality means you need to know how to host people, how to welcome people, and how to deliver services to the guests to meet their satisfaction. It is not an easy task.”