Religious Experience

With the annual Hajj pilgrimage at its core, the Gulf region’s religious tourism market has long been a thriving one. But the arrival of painting Salvator Mundi at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque's drawing of millions of visitors every year and other upcoming religious attractions mean the industry is looking stronger than ever

EACH YEAR, FOR a handful of days in the middle of the last month of the Islamic calendar, millions of Muslims descend on Islam’s holiest city Makkah to fulfil one of the religion’s five pillars – obligatory for every physically and financially able Muslim man and woman at least once in their lives.

The month of Dhu al-Hijjah lends its name to the Hajj pilgrimage, which last year drew 2.4 million people to the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to perform the series of rituals centred on the ancient city, the Masjid al-Haram and its unmistakable focal point, the Kaaba.

Arduous though it is, the spiritual rewards described in the Qur’an and Hadith are enormous for those who undertake the Hajj; and perhaps in keeping with the mercantile history of Makkah, there are today also huge economic rewards on offer as a result of the massive annual influx of visitors to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The beating heart of the GCC’s religious tourism sector, Hajj and Umrah (which is a similar pilgrimage to Hajj but can be performed at any time of the year) are reported to bring in around $12bn in revenues – part of a wider tourism sector contribution of $22.6bn. The annual revenue of Hajj season alone is estimated at up to $6bn, with the pilgrimages contributing 20 per cent of the kingdom’s non-oil GDP and 7 per cent of total GDP.

With around 1.75 million of last year’s 2.4 million pilgrims arriving from some 168 countries abroad, it’s little surprise that this revenue comes largely from accommodation, gifts, food, travel and transport, tour operators and more.

And with Vision 2030 looking to boost the kingdom’s non-oil economy, Hajj and Umrah are in line to become an even more lucrative source of income for the country.