Tourism & Hospitality | Wednesday 18 January, 2017 3:59 am |

The one-month long 5th Haya Shopping Festival will kick off on Jan. 26, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced in a press conference on Tuesday.

The shopping festival aims to stimulate the economy by attracting visitors and residents to spend the holiday in Jeddah, acting Secretary General of the JCCI Hassan Dahlan said.

Good weather during the holidays in addition to entertainment, tourism packages, prizes and sales are factors to a successful shopping festival, he added. “Unique prizes worth SR 1.5 million are waiting to be offered in the festival.”

Jeddah has over 60 malls and is a gateway for millions of Umrah pilgrims, he noted.

“The newest addition to the shopping festival this year is the electronic vouchers”, Dahlan said. “This aims to develop prize contests and to avoid repetition of similar winners each year.”

The festival will be held in cooperation with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) and the sponsors include participated by Red Sea Mall, Salam Mall, Arabian Centres, Heraa Avenue, Andalus Mall, among many others.

“The authority invites everyone to participate as it’s a time for transformation and promoting youth to fulfill the nation’s vision,” said Mohammed Alamri, director of the Makkah division of the SCTH. “25 hotels and tourism establishments will offer promotions for visitors and tourists.”

Last year the festival was visited by 2 million visitors and the value of sales reached up to SR 1 billion.

Umrah pilgrims with high consumption power during shopping festivals.
More initiatives and events will be done throughout the year to attract Umrah pilgrims to Jeddah as a tourist destination, he added.

Asked about the role of the General Entertainment Authority in Jeddah’s festivals and events, Dahlan said “the chamber of commerce met with the GEA and signed a MoU to participate in its strategic plan and plan events for the upcoming year.”