A recent quarterly report by Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has revealed that Makkah posted a 32.7 percent growth in revenue per available room (revPAR) in the first quarter of 2009, while Jeddah had an increase of 30.3 percent to rank within the top three best performing hotel markets in the region. In line with this, Elaf Group of Companies, a business organization serving the Saudi Arabian travel, tourism and hotel industries, has recently announced that it will deliver a fresh supply of nearly 5,000 hotel rooms within the next three years with the launch of two hotels each in Makkah and Jeddah and one in Madinah. Ziyad Bin Mahfouz, president, Elaf Group of Companies, said: “The Kingdom remains a significant growth market and an important consolidating force in the region's hotel industry. Makkah and Jeddah particularly stand out as the top growth markets in the Middle East, having registered the best revenue rates per room in the entire region. As such, we are fully committed to support the growth of the Kingdom's hospitality sector by delivering a fresh supply of hotels rooms to address the growing demand and open opportunities for further growth.” The company has disclosed that some 982 hotel rooms will be available by the end of this year, while over 2,400 rooms under construction will be completed within the next three years. The group will manage the Elaf Almashaer Hotel in Makkah, which will have a total of 304 rooms, and the Elaf Al Sud in Mahbas Al Jin, which will have a total capacity of 850 rooms. In Jeddah, Elaf will manage the Elaf Hotel at the Red Sea Mall, which will have a capacity of over 150 rooms, and the Galleria in Tahliya Street, which will have 400 rooms, while the Elaf Alhuda Hotel in Madinah will have a capacity of 237. “We are committed to implement ambitious plans that will complement the KSA Government's strategies to further encourage domestic tourism and enhance the overall travel sector, especially since Saudi Arabia is witnessing a boom in its travel and tourism industry,” Bin Mahfouz added. Meanwhile, as a part of its efforts to support eco-tourism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) conducted lately a training trip as a part of the “Leave No Trace” program. The training program was attended by 22 trainees from various governmental agencies in Al- Madinah Al-Munawarah including: the Islamic University, the Department of Education, the Technical Training College, and the College of Tourism and Hospitality in Al-Madinah region. SCTA's “Leave No Trace” program aims at qualifying national cadres to apply the principles of the program in environmental tours, and training trips. The program consisted of two parts; theoretical part which was conducted at the College of Tourism and Hospitality, in which the principles and ethics of dealing with natural areas were introduced, and a practical part which in the trainees applied the Leave No Trace principles at Al Bedah Wildlife Park, during of which the trainees were acquainted with the impacts of negatives practices, as well as the positive effects of applying Leave no Trace in tourism trips. SCTA also held an advanced training program for trip leaders in “Leave No Trace” program under the supervision of a number of international and national experts in this field. __
