star hotels in Jeddah forecast an excellent year, with high occupancy rates seen in the coming months. A source in Jeddah Hilton hotel told the Saudi Gazette that the two leading five-star hotels in Jeddah – Hilton and InterContinental – have achieved their targets for 2011, adding that whatever business made to year end is just "icing on the cake". Both hotels currently operate at 89 percent occupancy and with Haj season nearing, it will be an excellent year, he noted. Jeddah registered a 12.8 percent rise to 78.2 percent occupancy, the latest hotel industry data released by STR Global Hotel Survey showed. Jeddah also reported the largest increases in average daily rates (ADR) as hotels posted a 12 percent increase to $214.83. It also posted the best performance for revenues per available room (RevPAR) with a 26.4 percent rise to $168.06, the data for June showed. Tourism in Saudi Arabia as a whole also showed strong performance in June with occupancy rates up more than eight percent at 62.1 percent. The same source who requested anonymity, further said "we in Saudi Arabia Hiltons and all InterContinental chains in Jeddah, Makkah and Madina have achieved our budget targets for 2011 last June. The rest of 2011 is sheer profits." "Four- and three-star hotels are expected to catch up by mid-September benefiting from Ramadan seasonal demand for hospitality," he added. Commenting on current unrests in major traditional Saudi summer destinations such as Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia, the source has good omen for home tourism. "Those who usually take pre-Ramadan vacations either opted for other places such as Turkey and Malaysia or (are) experiencing home tourism," he added. According to Jeddah buildings licensing department at Jeddah Mayoralty and data obtained from 10 tour operators, about 3,600 FAUPs (furnished apartments) are available in Jeddah market with capacity to host about 8,000 guests. A source with SCTA in Riyadh told the Saudi Gazette in a telephone interview that the rating of hotels and furnished apartments as well as price listings, have helped business activities. "We (at SCTA) like to think we are assisting Saudis and residents in rediscovering own home attractions as initial market indicators for FUAPs in Makkah, Madina, Riyadh, Jeddah and Abha give us 80 percent average occupancy and fully-booked during Ramadan and the pre-school a couple of weeks (ago)," said Engineer Abdul-Aziz Al-Ragban, the Saudi board member of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Association (WFTGA). __
