Tour operators double rates amid high demand due to festive rush
Updated 21 March 2024
Rashid Hassan
Riyadh
Umrah travel agencies and tour operators have nearly doubled the price of tour packages per person, with fees expected to triple in anticipation of a heavy rush during Qiyam Al-Layl, the last 10 days of Ramadan.
Umrah travel operators in Riyadh have almost doubled the price of individual tour bus packages from the regular fare of SR110 ($30) to up to SR200.
This fee will further increase to between SR250 and SR300 during the Qiyam Al-Layl, said tour operators in Hai Al-Wizarat district.
“The hike in the Umrah package prices is due to the huge rush of pilgrims during Ramadan,” said tour operator Al-Fajr, also citing an increase in value-added tax to 15 percent as one of the reasons for soaring prices when compared to pre-pandemic years.
“Most people want to spend Ramadan in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah,” Abdur Rahman Oomeri, a Riyadh resident who came to inquire about Umrah packages, told Arab News.
There are about 100 Umrah travel operators spread throughout the capital, most of them in the districts of Hai Al-Wizarat and Batha.
Rises in Umrah package prices are seen every year during Ramadan, only halting with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since pandemic restrictions were lifted, however, prices have soared due to a high influx of Umrah pilgrims returning to the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
Flights from Riyadh to Jeddah are also filling up quickly.
“Tickets for some of the closer dates are not available as they sold out amid the heavy Ramadan rush,” Mohammed Aslam Jameel, a supervisor at a Riyadh travel company, told Arab News.
“I booked a Riyadh to Jeddah round trip for Friday (March 22) for my family in the third week of February 2024 and it cost me SR592 per person, but after checking the price of tickets now, I can tell you they range between SR1,000 to SR1,500. For next week, it costs about SR2,000 and if you want to travel during the Qiyam Al-Layl, it will cost about SR2,500.
“There are comparatively cheaper tickets for odd timings, but they too will total around SR1,000 now,” he added.
Ticket prices for international flights too have soared on dates close to Eid Al-Fitr as many expatriates plan to travel back home to celebrate Eid with their family and friends. Final exams in international schools are also over now and classes will resume when schools reopen after Eid Al-Fitr.
Mohammed Serajuddin, an Indian working with the King Saud University and who is traveling to India on April 4 to join his family for Eid celebrations, told Arab News: “I booked my Riyadh to New Delhi ticket on Feb. 28, which cost me SR985, but now if I book the ticket for the same date, it will cost about SR1,200.”
Museums Commission appeals for applicants in virtual reality competition
Invitation to place spotlight on Kingdom’s cultural heritage
Updated 31 December 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: The Kingdom’s Museums Commission has appealed for applicants for its virtual reality competition, an innovative initiative aimed at enhancing education and promoting technological advancement in the sector, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The competition, which opened on Dec. 6, invites young people to create immersive and interactive educational experiences that utilize virtual reality to spotlight Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage and help transform the role of museums in society, the SPA added.
The competition targets a diverse range of participants, including students and graduates specializing in information technology, computer science, digital design, and fine arts.
Developers and programmers with an interest in virtual reality, as well as artists and designers keen to blend technology with art, have also been encouraged to apply.
The initiative also welcomes culture enthusiasts with a technological background who want to explore VR applications in museums, as well as storytellers with a passion for narrating the history and civilization of their cities or regions.
Successful participants will undergo a four-month training program designed to develop their skills in virtual reality design and programming.
The competition will unfold in four stages: the selection of trainees, VR training and development, the creation of interactive educational experiences, and the evaluation and judging of entries.
Winners will be celebrated through regional ceremonies held across the Kingdom.
The Museums Commission said its ambition was to inspire future generations and foster a deeper appreciation for cultural heritage through the initiative. By integrating cutting-edge technology and storytelling, the competition aims to reimagine museums as dynamic platforms for learning and engagement, it added.
Registration for the competition can be made on the official Museums Commission website and its social media channels.
Saudi crown prince offers condolences after South Korea plane crash
All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway at Muan International Airport
Updated 30 December 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a cable of condolences to South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok after a plane crash killed 179 people on Sunday.
All 175 passengers and four of the six crew were killed when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway at Muan International Airport, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall. Two crew members were pulled out alive.
The crown prince extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and the people of South Korea and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
2024 Year in Review: The events that testified to Saudi Arabia’s transformation
Riyadh’s new metro system will relieve pressure on roads by removing tens of millions of car journeys every year
The year coming to an end has seen events that together bear witness to how rapidly the Kingdom is evolving
Updated 30 December 2024
Jonathan Gornall
LONDON: In 1924, Riyadh was a small oasis town, covering less than one square kilometer and home to no more than 30,000 people.
One hundred years ago, the motor car had yet to displace the camel as the primary form of transport and the future capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was still contained within the defensive walls that had encircled it for 200 years.
Today, Riyadh is a vast metropolis, the largest city on the Arabian Peninsula. Ever expanding, the capital is currently spread over 1,500 square kilometers and has a population close to eight million, largely reliant on the car.
A picture shows the opening session of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD COP16, in the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
In 2024, however, Riyadh took a significant step toward an increasingly sustainable future with the opening on Dec. 1 of the first three lines of a revolutionary new driverless metro system linking all parts of the city over 176 km of tracks.
Riyadh’s goal is not only to get bigger, but also to get better, leading the nation in following the blueprint of Vision 2030, the plan to transition the Kingdom away from an oil-dependent economy — and the new mass-transit system will relieve pressure on the roads by removing tens of millions of car journeys every year.
A decade in the making, by the end of January 2025 all six metro lines are expected to be open, with 190 trains serving 85 stations, initially carrying 1.2 million passengers a day and with a planned capacity of 3.6 million.
MORE SAUDI MILESTONES
• February: 15 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas discovered at Jafurah Field.
• May: Students secure 27 awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair in the US.
• August: Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons crowned Esports World Cup club champions.
• September: Riyadh hosts the third edition of Global AI Summit, also known as GAIN.
• September: Kingdom tops region, 4th globally in UN’s digital government services index.
• October: 4,000-year-old town dubbed Al-Natah discovered hidden in Khaybar oasis.
• October: Archaeologists discuss findings from Al-Faw, Kingdom’s newest World Heritage Site.
Treasured traces of the city’s past remain. Line 1, the Blue Line, which serves the north-south axis of the capital, passes close by the old town, where Al-Masmak Fort, once the largest building in Riyadh, dating back to the 19th century and recaptured by Abdulaziz Al-Saud in 1902, still stands in testimony to the Kingdom’s past.
Fahad bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel, Minister of Health of Saudi Arabia; Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, Saudi Arabia; Anita Zaidi, President, Gender Equality, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA; Keir Simmons, Chief International Correspondent, NBC News, United Kingdom; Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan; Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO); William H. Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA; Speaking in the Bridging the Health Gap session at the Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development 2024, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 28 April 2024. (Photo: World Economic Forum/Deepu Das)
As Riyadh has grown and changed, so too has the whole of Saudi Arabia, and 2024 has seen a host of events that together bear witness to just how rapidly the Kingdom is evolving, transforming itself into a global player and destination in the process.
The year in Saudi Arabia began as it is ending, with the Winter at Tantora Festival, the culture, art and music festival at AlUla, which this year started on Dec. 19 and continues until Jan. 11.
From its beginnings in December 2018, when the festival featured the Italian singer Andrea Bocelli and the French violinist Renaud Capucon, it has grown to become a globally recognized celebration of art, music, and culture, with many events taking place in the stunning mirror-walled Maraya concert hall in AlUla’s Ashar Valley.
A train travels to the King Abdullah Finance District "KAFD" metro station in the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 1, 2024. (AFP)
An early highlight in the 2024 season was the classical concert on Dec. 27 by singer Abeer Nehme and The National Arab Orchestra, which celebrated the rich tapestry of Arab heritage.
At the other end of the musical scale in 2024 was MDLBEAST Soundstorm, the mid-December music festival which, with some justification, lays claim to being “the loudest weekend in Riyadh,” and this year featured acts including Eminem, Muse, David Guetta and Linkin Park.
Another mass-participation cultural event that is increasingly putting Saudi Arabia on the global entertainment map is Riyadh Season, a high-octane, multi-venue, six-month celebration that is billed as the biggest and most diverse entertainment festival in the world.
A view of the red carpet at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP)
Starting on Oct. 12 in 2024, within two months the season had attracted more than 10 million visitors.
One highlight this year was the bout in the Kingdom Arena between light-heavyweight boxing champions Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, won by the Russian Beterbiev, who became the first undisputed four-belt light-heavyweight champion since 2002.
By way of contrast, and summing up the eclectic diversity of the entire season, on Nov. 14 stars flew into Riyadh from around the world for the 45th anniversary celebration of Lebanese couturier Elie Saab.
The year in Saudi Arabia began as it is ending, with the Winter at Tantora Festival, the culture, art and music festival at AlUla, which this year started on Dec. 19 and continues until Jan. 11. (Shutterstock)
The fashion show was attended by celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry, Celine Dion, Nadine Nassib Njeim, Monica Bellucci and Razane Jammal.
Over on the west coast in Jeddah, the fourth iteration of the Red Sea International Film Festival, which ran from Dec. 5 to 14, continued to reinforce its reputation as a rapidly emerging force in the global film industry.
Championing films from Saudi Arabia and the Arab world, Asia, and Africa, the festival featured conversations with global stars including Sarah Jessica Parker and Priyanka Chopra.
Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh. (SPA)
On the sporting front, this year the Kingdom added another sport to a rapidly growing portfolio that already embraces soccer, golf, boxing and Formula One. This year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the second round of the F1 championship, was the fourth in the country and was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
In November, the Women’s Tennis Association finals were held in Riyadh for the first time, with a record $15 million prize purse on offer.
The final saw world No. 3 Coco Gauff beat Zheng Qinwen in what is slated to be the first of several such finals to be held in the Kingdom.
Models display the latest collection during Jimmy Fashion show in Riyadh. (REUTERS)
After her victory against the Chinese Olympic champion, the 20-year-old American praised the event as inspirational for young Saudis, “just to show young girls that, you know, their dreams are possible,” she said.
She added: “I’m literally no different than they are. We just maybe come from different places.”
By the time she retired, she said, she hoped there would be a Saudi Grand Slam champion.
People attend the Soundstorm music festival, organized by MDLBEAST, in Banban on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh. (AFP)
But perhaps the biggest moment in Saudi Arabia’s 2024 came on Dec. 11, when global footballing body FIFA confirmed that the 2034 World Cup would be held in the Kingdom.
Hosting the 48-team tournament in 15 stadiums across five cities will bring in hundreds of thousands of fans and players, many of whom will be experiencing the Kingdom in person for the first time.
“For us, soccer or football is not only a sport,” Saudi Sports Minister Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said after the news was announced, “it is a value that we share with the entire world.”
Saudi Arabia, he added, was “looking forward to hosting” many more events and making football history.
“This is the chance to invite you all to visit my country, to celebrate our culture, to see the greatest success story with your own eyes.”
Fun and games isn’t the only stage on which Saudi Arabia is opening up to the world.
In 2024 the Kingdom hosted a number of high-level global conferences, including biodiversity conference COP16 over the first two weeks in December, at which global pledges to combat drought and land degradation topped $10 billion and, in April, the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development.
Saudi adventurer triumphant after crossing the Empty Quarter
Badr Al-Shaibani wants to champion Saudi Arabia as a land where heritage, nature and adventure meet
Updated 30 December 2024
SALEH FAREED
JEDDAH: Badr Al-Shaibani, a Saudi Arabia adventurer and entrepreneur, has successfully completed a 600 km solo crossing of the largest sand desert in the world.
Al-Shaibani departed from Umm Hadid on Dec. 15, the site of a famous meteorite impact, where he set up his first camp. He walked for over 14 days and completed the journey on Dec. 29 at the breathtaking Umm Al-Hayesh Lake — one of the Empty Quarter’s natural wonders.
Speaking to Arab News after completing his adventure, 45-year-old Al-Shaibani said: “Crossing the Empty Quarter on foot is one of the most thrilling adventures I have ever done. It is a really special experience.
Speaking of challenges he faced, Al-Shaibani said: “The first two days, I faced strong storms and winds called savi, and after a while the sun was also strong. (Supplied)
“I am so proud to be the first Saudi to traverse such a vast distance on foot, and I hope this journey inspires young Saudis to explore the nature of our country and spotlight Saudi Arabia’s diverse potential as a truly unique global tourist destination.”
His journey began by heading toward Tawil Al-Khatam, a challenging 200 km stretch that he traversed in five days at an average pace of 40 km per day.
Later on, Al-Shaibani continued toward Umm Al-Qurun, covering 90 km, before completing another 45 km to Bayd Al-Laha.
Being alone in the darkness, you explore something you wouldn’t normally see during your life. It was an amazing scene which makes you wonder how Allah created this part of the world.
Badr Al-Shaibani, Saudi adventurer
The third and final leg led him to the Al-Qa’d region near the Sabkha salt flats through a 60 km route. His expedition concluded at the breathtaking Umm Al-Hayesh Lake after trekking an additional 160 km.
From battling the weather to navigating endless dunes, this adventure pushed Al-Shaibani to the limit both physically and mentally. “I discovered the beauty and harshness of the Empty Quarter’s untamed wilderness, where there is a constant challenge, but the rewards are incredible.”
Speaking of challenges he faced, he said: “The first two days, I faced strong storms and winds called savi, and after a while the sun was also strong. Other than that, I am used to walking on ice or climbing mountains, but walking and climbing the soft sand was a big challenge for me. I really faced difficulty climbing the sand because it takes a lot of effort.”
Being so far from civilization exposed him to new experiences. “During the day I could see with my eyes. During the night, the exploration changes,” he said.
“Being alone in the darkness, you explore something you wouldn’t normally see during your life, it was an amazing scene which makes you wonder how Allah created this part of the world.”
He was happy to complete the adventure not only to add it to his achievements but also to document and capture the majestic beauty of the largest continuous sand desert in the world.
“The Empty Quarter, with its distinctive natural heritage and captivating beauty, stands as one of the Kingdom’s most remarkable yet largely undiscovered treasures,” he said.
“This destination has the potential to become a major attraction for tourists from home and abroad, especially with initiatives that promote desert tourism and encourage the exploration of the Kingdom’s unique natural environment.”
Al-Shaibani told Arab News he wants to inspire young people and champion Saudi Arabia as a land where heritage, nature and adventure converge.
Saudi woman tech CEO opens up about building business in male-dominated industry
Female leader tells of fighting the perception battle
Updated 30 December 2024
Tamara Aboalsaud
RIYADH: One of the few Saudi women tech CEOs working in a male-dominated industry has opened up about the journey of building her own computer consultancy in Riyadh.
Sulafah Jabarti, who was born in Riyadh, founded information technology services company Clear Vision in 2003.
Jabarti told Arab News: “The beginning of my journey started when I realized the power of turning ideas into action.
“It wasn’t a single defining moment, but a shift in perspective, a recognition that the world of business, particularly in technology, could serve as a platform to enable my vision and drive meaningful change.”
Sulafah Jabarti, CEO Clear Vision
Like any other visionary trying to turn ideas into reality and create their own business, Jabarti faced challenges in building the right team, finding resources, and making sure her ideas were applicable and suitable to real-world needs.
One of her biggest challenges, however, was navigating the male-dominated tech world as a female leader, fighting the perception battle and striving to earn her colleagues’ trust, in addition to negotiating the steps every entrepreneur must take.
She said: “These experiences, while demanding, became catalysts for growth and innovation. What kept me going was a relentless focus on problem-solving, staying adaptable, and remaining grounded in the purpose behind it all: To create solutions that empower others and push boundaries in meaningful ways.”
What makes Jabarti’s experience so unique is that she is one of the few Saudi women to own and lead a holistic IT solutions and digital transformation company in the private sector. She recently became the first Saudi woman to win the Best 100 Arabian CEO Award for her work with Clear Vision.
She said staying true to her personal values and remaining focused on her growth were the defining factors in her business success and the personal connections she made along the way. She advises other entrepreneurs to follow a similar path.
Compromising one’s principles, ethics, and neglecting the people around you, or even yourself in the process, can result in even your greatest achievements feeling hollow, she said.
She added: “I would also advise against isolating yourself. No matter how capable you are, success is rarely achieved alone. Build connections, seek guidance, and don’t be afraid to lean on your support system.”
The key, she added, is to focus not solely on what you want to achieve, but on who you want to become along the way.
Jabarti said the most surprising part of building a business was how personal the process was, and realizing that success is as much about self-development and clever leadership as it is about innovation.
She said: “I saw business not as the goal, but as a powerful enabler: a space where creativity, strategy, and impact intersect.”
In terms of what is next for Clear Vision at the corporate level, Jabarti said the company is committed to pioneering solutions in artificial intelligence, data analytics, and sustainable technologies; exploring new verticals to diversify its impact and secure its relevance in a continuously evolving digital landscape.
“We are committed to empowering organizations to not only thrive in the digital age but to lead it,” she said.
Contributing to something larger than the individual and leaving a positive mark both on the business world and on home communities are the overarching aims that give Jabarti the drive and motivation to constantly grow and innovate.
