Tourism in Makkah al-Mukarramah Province

Tourism in Makkah al-Mukarramah Province holds special importance as it is the home to the Grand Mosque and the holy sites visited by millions of Muslims every year. The province is distinguished by several natural, cultural, historical, and heritage elements, and service infrastructure.

Makkah al-Mukarramah Province is located in the west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the intersection of latitudes 21°25′ N and longitudes 39°49′ E. Makkah al-Mukarramah City is the administrative headquarters of the province.

Makkah al-Mukarramah Province includes Historic Jeddah, located in Jeddah Governorate, one of the Saudi archaeological landmarks listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Nassif House, an archaeological landmark in the center of Historic Jeddah, reveals a historical era of old architectural development in Jeddah, dating back to 1872.

Shubra Palace and Museum, a historical palace in Taif Governorate, is one of the attractions that attract tourists due to its distinctive architectural design and style. The palace's significance lies in being one of the palaces inhabited by King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud after unifying the Kingdom. He was managing the ruling affairs from this palace during his summer stays in Taif.

The Camel Racing Field in Taif Governorate hosted the Crown Prince Camel Festival, making world records in the Guinness World Record as the largest camel sports festival in the world in 2018.

Makkah al-Mukarramah Province is the home to several significant museums, including the Two Holy Mosques Architecture Exhibition, Makkah al-Mukarramah Museum for Antiquities and Heritage at al-Zaher Palace, Umm al-Qura University Museum, Jeddah Sculpture Museum (the Open Museum), Khuzam Palace Museum, the Clock Tower Museum, and Abdul Raouf Khalil Museum in Jeddah.

Jeddah is distinguished by the Waterfront Project, known as ROSHN Waterfront, with a length of 4,500 m and an area estimated at 730,000 m², accommodating 120,000 people. It includes a marina for recreational boats covering an area of 1,800 m², the first interactive fountain on the northern corniche, and the longest pedestrian bridge in the Kingdom at 650 m.

In terms of sport, Jeddah Corniche Circuit is the largest in the Kingdom's history, with a length of 6.17 km and featuring twenty-seven turns.

Taif Governorate is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Kingdom due to its strategic location near Makkah al-Mukarramah and Jeddah, serving as the eastern gateway to Makkah al-Mukarramah. It includes two Miqats sites for Ihram: Wadi as-Sayl al-Kabir "Qarn al-Manazil" and Wadi Muharram. Additionally, it has high potential for agricultural tourism due to the abundance of rose farms and local seasonal fruits, as well as distinctive tourist facilities such as King Fahd Park, Arruddaf Park, parks in al-Hada and al-Shafa, and major festivals like Souk Okaz, Rose Season, and the Crown Prince Camel Festival.

Taif is characterized by a relatively moderate climate and high elevations, offering great opportunities for recreational and tourism activities, and numerous heritage, historical, and environmental sites that add a distinctive historical and geographical dimension to the governorate.

Among the most prominent projects of the Tourism Development Fund in Taif is the "Taif Front" Project, reflecting the importance of Taif as one of the Kingdom's summer destinations. It extends over an area exceeding one hundred thousand m², with investments surpassing SAR300 million.

In 2018, the Kingdom worked on developing Asfan Fortress, the traditional market, and Bir al-Tafla area in Asfan Center, in cooperation with Asfan Municipality, within the framework of preserving the importance of archaeological and heritage sites.

The Makkah Province Development Authority seeks to develop the ring road, the Tourist Road Project in the province, to connect and develop a group of natural and tourist sites to achieve sustainable environmental and economic development.

The authority also continued implementing the initiative to develop the axis of Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Road "formerly Makkah-Jeddah Expressway," which is one of the most vital roads in Makkah al-Mukarramah City for receiving the Kingdom's guests. Along the road, a package of development and infrastructure projects enhanced with visual elements will be established under the supervision of the authority.

In 2018, the branch of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (formerly) in Makkah al-Mukarramah set the standards for classifying Umm al-Qura Hotels after partially reclassifying ninety-five hotels through three committees responsible for classifying Makkah al-Mukarramah hotels. The committee visited ninety-five four-star and five-star hotels over seven weeks to assess the service standards in preparation for reclassification and to provide a real vision of the nature and quality of services.

The province offers a variety of activities that make it a prominent tourist destination, including the annual Rose Season, Souk Okaz Festival, a cultural and tourism event first launched in 2007, and Jeddah Season, which in its 2022 edition attracted six million visitors after sixty days of exciting shows, programs, and activities across thirteen event sites in the city. More than 4,200 days of entertainment, cultural, artistic, tourism activities, marine sports, etc. were attended and enjoyed by more than six million visitors from within the Kingdom and tourists from outside, representing 129 countries.

The number of hotels in Makkah al-Mukarramah Province in 2019 reached about 1,724 hotels, including seventy-seven five-star hotels and sixty-nine four-star hotels. The number of furnished residential units reached about 1,270 units.

The number of licensed facilities in the Holy Capital in the first quarter of 2024 reached about 816 facilities, with the number of rooms exceeding 227,000. The licensed hospitality facilities include 801 hotels, twelve serviced apartments, and three tourist inns.