Each year, millions of pilgrims and Umrah visitors head to the holy cities of Makkah and Al Madina to perform their religious duties, and visit cultural heritage sites. The influx of these travelers has positioned the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as one of the world leading countries in religious tourism.
The Saudi Vision 2030 puts a tremendous focus on the holy cities, and the potential they hold. The Kingdom is preparing to welcome more than 30 million Umrah visitors by 2030, Based on these estimates, the country is planning to expand its hospitality sector by more than 50% and further develop its tourism sector. This increased attention has boosted the cities’ hospitality sectors, making it necessary to elevate the quality of services delivered by their hotels and to increase their accommodation capacities to better serve the visitors during their spiritual and cultural journeys.
The expansion of the Grand Mosque and the infrastructure development in Mecca and Madina will further boost the tourism sector, and drive the need to increase the number of rooms in the area, currently amounting to 187.000 hotel rooms, and accommodate the expected increase in demand. Accordingly, the western region is witnessing a surge in residential and hospitality projects that are expected to provide thousands of additional rooms within Mecca and Madina. This additional demand will enhance the performance of the hospitality sector and drive its growth since the increased competition will help boost the quality of service offered by the cities’ hotels.
During the holy of month of Ramadan in particular, Hotels in the Kingdom, especially those in the holy cities and the western region, witness a boost in their activities and intensifies competition amongst them. Hotel occupancy rates increased in the holy cities during the first and last 10 days of Ramadan reaching a groundbreaking of 90% rate, which is a good indicator of what is to come.
For instance, Makarem hotels, the award-winning Saudi brand, have launched several exclusive promotional offers and programs for the holy month of Ramadan and Fitr Eid in many of their hotels in the western region such as Makarem Ajyad Makkah, Makarem Um Al Qura, Makarem Al Bait, Makarem Minna among others.
Makarem hotels have also differentiated themselves by offering premier services to enrich tourists’ experiences during their spiritual journeys. The hotels deliver world-class experiences designed to showcase the Saudi spirit. Everyone at the hotels is committed to helping pilgrims every step of the way by carefully crafting every detail of each traveler’s stay and making each spiritual journey unique.
