Home » World » This is the Impact of Hajj Restrictions on Saudi Arabia

This is the Impact of Hajj Restrictions on Saudi Arabia

JAKARTA, AYOBANDUNG.WITH– The circulation of money in the process of the Hajj and Umrah makes an important contribution to the economy Arab Arabia has always been. Restrictions on pilgrims this year may only be expected by Saudi settlers to affect the country’s income and economy.

As is known, every pilgrim can spend thousands of US dollars to perform the once-in-a-lifetime service.
Expenditures of pilgrims include consumption, visa, transportation, souvenirs. If thousands of dollars are multiplied by about 1.8 million pilgrims per year, the numbers are truly extraordinary.

“Restaurants, travel agents, airlines, cellphone companies and (Saudi) countries get large funds during the hajj,” said the young activist Arab Ahmed Maher was quoted from the BBC on Saturday (6/27/2020).

Then Reuters news agency estimates Saudi income from organizing hajj and umrah per year around 12 billion US dollars. That amount turns out to be 20 percent of Saudi GDP.

“The decision (hajj restriction) is really big news. This will relax the local economy,” said Simon Henderson as an observer Arab Saudi dari Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Henderson suspects the economic impact due to restrictions on pilgrims will be greatly felt in Jeddah. The city is famous and growing thanks to its position as a receptionist as well as a servant of the pilgrims.

“Traditionally and historically, Jeddah’s welfare depends on pilgrims. This time the residents there cannot depend on it anymore,” Henderson said.

Arabia has lifted the national curfew on June 21. That means the residents there can move again until night. However, there are 150 thousand cases of Covid-19 that are growing in Saudi Arabia. Of that number, 1,400 people died.

– .

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.