Beekeepers and the honey-producing community in Al-Baha have expressed their dismay at the poor attendance to this year's Honey Festival here following the success of the event last year. “The low number of visitors is down to the bad timing of the festival, which last year was held in the middle of the month of Sha'ban,” said one member of the Society of Beekeepers. Other apiarists added that the low numbers and resultant poor business was also due to a lack of accompanying activities at the event to attract families and other visitors, a view supported by honey buff Ahmed Jilan. “I'm surprised at the poor turnout, but it must have something to do with the failure to provide entertainment for a variety of tastes,” Jilan said. “The event this year has almost become a non-event, reduced as it has been to a single tent.”
