Important! This article is written by orangesmile.com editors and is protected by copyright law. The article can only be re-used with a direct link to www.orangesmile.com

Hotels in Mecca have increased their rates up to 31%

Currently Mecca is a hot place as during the holy month Ramadan it’s visited by pilgrims from all over the world. However, this year they will need to pay 31% more comparing to 2009.

According to the research provided by the Hotels Combined, this year the average daily rate estimates US$568, which is much more than US$433 in 2009. However, the raise in price didn’t affect pilgrims who even spent more days in Mecca. In 2009 the majority of visitors preferred to make a 5 day stay in hotels in Mecca, while the average room rent in 2010 estimated full 7 nights.

This year the statistics of visitors shows a change in their geographic location. Traditionally hotels in Mecca during Ramadan are full with guests from Egypt, Philippines,India and Pakistan. This year the numbers of pilgrims from these countries has dropped in favor of visitors from America, Europe, Australia and South Africa. Experts believe the decrease in pilgrims from countries like Pakistan is caused by high hotel rates.

Haji 2010 (the annual pilgrimage of Muslim people) is expected to be even more expensive. Independent travelers will have to pay approximately 3 times more than for Ramadan 2010. Despite this fact hoteliers expect the record number of pilgrims to gather on the Red Sea cost in Saudi Arabia this year. Travel agencies already state that this year the bookings are made much earlier than in 2009, when many have had to make late reservations due to H1N1 virus.

Previous article / Back to news index

Stay in touch with the latest news of a worldwide hotel industry. All up-to-date analytics, news, and reports about hotel business trends on OrangeSmile.com.