The headline: Saudi Arabia to move from oil, earn more from Hajj. At $35 dollars a barrel and 10 million barrels a day the Saudis earn about $127 billion a year from oil. Of course that is gross. Net will be less.
As part of a diversification strategy, Saudi Arabia is to broaden pilgrimage services to reduce its dependence on falling oil revenue, reported the Saudi Gazette newspaper.
The pilgrimage industry is the country’s second most important after oil and gas. Nearly two million foreign pilgrims visit the holy city of Mecca annually during Hajj. The figure is expected to reach 2.7 million by 2020.
National Tourism Committee member Abdul Ghani Al-Ansari emphasized the need to restructure the sector to make it a major contributor to the national economy.
According to economists, religious pilgrimages such as Hajj and Umrah have significant growth potential and the ability to create more job opportunities for young Saudis. The tourism sector contributes $22.6 billion (85 billion Saudi riyals) to Saudi Arabia’s GDP with Hajj and Umrah providing $12 billion (45 billion Saudi riyals).
Umrah is an extra, optional pilgrimage to Mecca and does not count as the once-in-a-lifetime Hajj pilgrimage. It can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to Hajj.
Economist Abdullah Katib estimates the annual revenue from the Hajj season at $5.3-6.1 billion (20-23 billion Saudi riyals) depending on the number of pilgrims.
“About 40 percent of this revenue comes from housing, 15 percent from gifts, 10 percent from food and the remainder from other services,” Katib said.
That would be 35% from “other services”. I wonder if the other services include young boys, hookers, and blow.
The “religion” thing is such an easy con. We have our own practitioners here in the US. It is especially popular in Republican politics. Although the marks may be wising up. Belatedly.