Tourism & Hospitality | Sunday 29 November, 2015 4:35 am |

Around 250,000 Umrah pilgrims have booked hotel rooms in Makkah and Madinah through the new “Sijjil” electronic system, Abdullah Qadi, deputy president of the National Committee for Haj and Umrah, has said.

Reserving hotel accommodation through the system, introduced by the Ministry of Haj, has resulted in savings of 10 to 15 percent for pilgrims, he was quoted as saying by local media on Saturday.
“The system also helps in solving the problems of hotels in Makkah. All the hotels and their rates are displayed for Umrah firms with the click of a button. The names of hotels, people responsible for reservation along with their mobile numbers and e-mails are all visible within seconds. Five stars hotels have also been added to the system,” said Qadi.

Before the application of the electronic program, many mediators were involved in reserving hotel accommodation, resulting in higher costs and time, he said. 
Meanwhile, King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah on Friday received the first group of 420 Umrah pilgrims from Malaysia.
Abdul Mohsen Al-Sheikh, deputy president of the airport, along with other officials welcomed the guests of God.

Abdul Rahman Sabbagh, member of the tourism committee at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the problem facing the hotel business in Makkah is that the supply is higher than demand. “The inner circle of hotels surrounding the Grand Mosque has a high demand during the Umrah season. Then occupancy demand moves to the second and third circle during Ramadan,” he was quoted as saying. 
He said all hotel owners wish the country receives about 7 million Umrah pilgrims. “Such a high figure will revive the market and bring hyper activity,” he added.