Hotels in Mecca were forced to cut peak room rates for the Hajj season, in response to a second consecutive fall in the number of foreign pilgrims visiting the city, reports The National.
Hajj, which brought millions of Muslims to Mecca over the last few weeks, is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for hotels in the city, but numbers have fallen this year due to the current renovation work being carried out on the Grand Mosque, in addition to concerns over Middle East respiratory syndrome.
This drop in the numbers of foreign pilgrims prompted hotels to discount rates to try and ensure full occupancies.
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According to the newspaper, rates for a typical room at the Al Marwa Rayhaan Hotel, operated by Rotana and located next to the Grand Mosque, have fallen by a third from the 2011 Hajj season, when the number of foreign pilgrims was at its highest.
The newspaper goes on to report similar falls at other Grand Mosque located hotels such as the Mövenpick Hotel & Residence Hajar Tower, Hilton Towers Mecca and Bab Al Mutazam Concorde Hotel, located several kilometres away from the Grand Mosque.
Saudi Arabia has limited the number of permits for pilgrims conducting the Haj because of extensive construction work being conducted at the Grand Mosque. Authorities cut the number of Saudi pilgrims by half and reduced the number of visas issued to foreign pilgrims by 20%.
The number of foreign pilgrims performing Hajj in Mecca fell this year to 1.38 million from 1.76 million in 2012, according to figures released by the interior ministry on Sunday.
The number of foreign pilgrims reached a peak in 2011 of 1.83 million visitors.
The restoration and expansion work at the Grand Mosque is expected to be completed by 2015.
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