Most of the pilgrims are coming from abroad, and pilgrimages are usually a significant revenue earner for Saudi Arabia
\n MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA:
\n\u201cBusiness is back\u201d, exclaims Abdullah Mekhlafi at the shop where he sells prayer mats in Islam\u2019s holiest city, which is preparing for the biggest influx of Hajj pilgrims since the coronavirus pandemic began.
\nTwo years of drastic restrictions on the number of pilgrims who could perform the Hajj emptied shops and hotels across the Saudi Arabian city of Makkah. But business owners are hoping for a quick recovery as hundreds of thousands of worshippers flock to the region this week.
\n\u201cWe had few customers (during the last two Hajj seasons), but today business is back, thanks to God. It\u2019s the same as before, and even better,\u201d 30-year-old Mekhlafi told AFP.
\nOne million people, including 850,000 from abroad, will be allowed at this year\u2019s Hajj.
\nIn 2019, about 2.5 million people took part in the annual pilgrimage.
\nThe following year, after the pandemic took hold, foreigners were barred and the total number of worshippers was capped at 10,000 to stop the Hajj from turning into a global super-spreader.
\nThat figure rose to 60,000 fully vaccinated Saudi citizens and residents in 2021.
\nRestoring old glory
\nThe Hajj, which costs at least $5,000 per person, and umrah pilgrimages that occur at other times of year are usually a significant revenue earner for Saudi Arabia, especially its tourism sector.
\nIn normal times, they generate about $12 billion annually, keeping the economy humming in Makkah.
\nRead: Over 17,000 pilgrims leave for Hajj under Road to Makkah project
\nThe city has seen a construction boom in recent years that has brought new shopping malls, apartment buildings and luxury hotels — some offering spectacular views of the Holy Kaaba.
\nBut these projects were starved for clients during the pandemic, meaning their owners were cheered by scenes already unfolding in Makkah on Monday, two days before the Hajj officially begins.
\nWhite-robed worshippers were flocking to souvenir and barber shops across the city of two million.
\nAnd the main shopping centre near the Grand Mosque, where many hotels are located, was buzzing with pilgrims again, a far cry from a year ago when the area looked nearly abandoned.
\nAmin, a perfume shop owner, was bullish about his prospects, telling AFP his losses could be recovered this year.
\n\u201cThere is a huge difference between this year and past ones. This year we can see a lot of pilgrims who are bringing back the glory to the Grand Mosque,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe losses were big, but now things are better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boom times
\nThe changes in Makkah track the recent economic fortunes of Saudi Arabia.
\nDuring the pandemic, the kingdom faced a sharp downturn in oil prices due to a collapse in global demand, which triggered austerity measures including the tripling of a value-added tax and cuts to civil servants\u2019 allowances.
\nParticularly after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in February, things seem to have changed.
\nIn early May, Saudi Arabia reported its fastest economic growth rate in a decade, as a surging oil sector fuelled a 9.6 per cent rise in the first quarter over the same period of 2021.
\n\u201cThe impact of the losses during the last two years was significant, but we are starting to see a recovery on the business level, and this year\u2019s (Hajj) is good news,\u201d said Salem Ali Shahran, operations manager at the biggest hotel chain in Makkah.
\n\u201cThe current numbers have reached 40 per cent of their 2019 levels. We hope for bigger numbers in the coming years.\u201d
\nSaudi Arabia\u2019s GDP is expected to grow by 7.6 per cent in 2022, the International Monetary Fund said in April.
\nThe world\u2019s biggest oil exporter is trying to diversify its economy, a main pillar of the Vision 2030 reform agenda pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler.
\nTourism is a crucial component of that plan, making a booming hajj all the more important.
\nThe current goal is for Saudi Arabia to triple foreign tourism this year as pandemic restrictions ease, Ahmed Al Khateeb, the tourism minister, told AFP in an interview last month.
\nOf the 100 million foreign and domestic tourists targeted for 2030, 30 million are expected to be making religious trips, largely to Makkah and Madina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Most of the pilgrims are coming from abroad, and pilgrimages are usually a significant revenue earner for Saudi Arabia MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA: \u201cBusiness is back\u201d, exclaims Abdullah Mekhlafi at the shop where he sells prayer mats in Islam\u2019s holiest city, which is preparing for the biggest influx of Hajj pilgrims since the coronavirus pandemic began. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[919,9387,9388,9386],"class_list":{"0":"post-270003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-businesses","9":"tag-hajj-boom","10":"tag-makkah","11":"tag-pandemic-slump"},"yoast_head":"\n