JEDDAH, 15 October 2006 — Religious tourism, if it is done right, can be a fantastic source of income, according to Jeddah architect Sami Angawi.

“The principle to follow in relation to the development and preservation of the religious sites is what the late King Fahd said: ‘We add and we don’t take away,’” Angawi told Arab News recently.

An architect, planner and researcher who has studied the Haj for the last 30 years, Angawi is a local and animated Jeddah fixture and one of the city’s most prominent boosters. Among his activities include working to preserve the distinct old Arabian architecture in the historic center of this coastal city, which may soon become the first, or one of the first, sites in the Kingdom to be added to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list of the world’s most valued and endangered heritage sites.

Angawi said that everywhere in the world countries promote their sights in order to attract tourists. In some countries, such as France (the world’s most-visited country), tourism is one of the top income earners in terms of the national gross domestic product. States within these countries, such as Mexico’s Quintana Roo state (home to Cancun, Cozumel and the Maya Riviera), tourism dominates as the No. 1 source of income, employing tens of thousand of locals.

Angawi says that Saudi Arabia should also work to promote its rich historic past and diverse natural beauty. As home to Islam’s holiest sites in Makkah and Madinah, religious tourism is the king of the industry here and, says Angawi, should be a priority. And when visitors come, he adds, all efforts should be made to make them stay as long as legally possible and to explore the region’s sights.

“Here, what do we do? We do the opposite,” said Angawi. “We give visitors a very hard time when they try to come, and when they come we want them to leave as soon as possible. And then we don’t want them to go anywhere except to some limited places.”

And this is hampering the Kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economic dependence, which is dominated by the petroleum sector.

While Saudi Arabia is not considered a leisure destination, it ranks high in terms of destinations when taking into account religious tourism. According to the World Tourism Organization data from 2004, Saudi Arabia ranks 22nd in the world, below Russia and above China, in terms of international arrivals in the Kingdom. Approximately 8.6 million people entered the Kingdom legally and temporarily in 2004, a 17-percent increase from the year before. The bulk of this traffic comprises pilgrims fulfilling one of the compulsory duties of Islam: The Haj, which all Muslims must do once in their lifetime if they can. Many return for Umrah.

According to Angawi, the Kingdom’s strategy should be to encourage people to move about the country, not just to experience Saudi Arabia’s interesting cultural and natural landscape, but also to help disperse the economic benefits to more remotely located Saudis. Angawi says that the Kingdom is making efforts and should continue on this path.

“I very much like what Prince Sultan ibn Salman (secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism) is doing,” he said. “I think he is trying his best.”

The challenges are many. Saudi Arabia is a young country and has historically been a formidable place wary to outsiders. With a few exceptions, most notably in Saudi Arabia’s Western Region, Saudi cities and towns aren’t accustomed to a lot of foreign traffic.

Culturally speaking, Saudi Arabia is also very closed-knit, with many living in a world where members of other tribes — not to mention actual foreigners — can be viewed at times as adversaries. This cultural trait makes engagement with outsiders — especially non-Muslims — at times seem unnecessary, or even morally risky. In a country where public photography (especially of women, covered or otherwise) could result in confrontation, tourism development is a delicate game.

Angawi describes one of the obstacles to tourism development as the local conservatism.

“We have to change,” he says. “If we really want to develop religious tourism we have to first develop the religious sites as they were. And also allow people to go, and make arrangements for them to go and stay as long as possible, to visit here, to visit there.”

One of the challenges to developing religious sites is that many Muslims are wary of sites, such as the Hera Cave in Makkah, becoming religious shrines. Indeed, Jeddah’s Tomb of Eve was walled off in the 1970s when pilgrims were found to be visiting the site in large numbers.

But, Angawi says, the Kingdom should make efforts to celebrate its religious heritage. After all, it is almost unfathomable for any of the world’s estimated 1.3 billion Muslims to come anywhere near this part of the world without stopping by Makkah.

“We are in the middle of the world,” he says. “Can you imagine any Muslim, crossing from East to West or North to South, who wouldn’t even dream of stopping over? If they come for three days, they make a plan to come another time with their families for two, three weeks if they see there is enough.”