star hotel, 16 villas and 70 sports, tourist, commercial and recreational facilities, all under one roof. He described the leasing of 60 commercial showrooms under the project as one of the largest in Taif. "The leasing comes in preparation for the coming summer season," he said. The three-storey commercial complex, built on an area of 27,000 square meters, includes fashion stores, recreation facilities and a large supermarket, and14 restaurants. He said the experimental operation of the hotel and recreational centers was a big success as it attracted a large number of tourists and holidaymakers. The occupancy was 100 percent at most times, he said, adding that visitors included Saudi families from various parts of the Kingdom as well as pilgrims from the Gulf, Egypt and Southeast Asian countries. Bahadur estimated the number of foreign Umrah pilgrims last year at 2.8 million against 2.6 million the year before. He expected a 20 percent increase in their number this year.
