JEDDAH, 24 November 2002 — Umrah pilgrims who came to the Kingdom during Ramadan last year spent an estimated SR3.75 billion, according to a study conducted by King Fahd Haj Research Institute at Um Al-Qura University.
The study pointed out that Egyptian pilgrims spent the lion’s share (19.4 percent), followed by Pakistanis (seven percent) and Nigerians (six percent). Dr. Osama Al-Bar, principal of the institute, said the average spending of a family who came for Umrah was SR7,904 for 24 days during Ramadan, at the rate of SR329 daily. Expenses of individuals were estimated at SR5,474 per head for the same period.He said travel and tourism companies received an average of SR3,304 from each pilgrim. “When average real revenue of a country increased by 10 percent, the number of pilgrims from that country rose by nine percent,” Dr. Al-Bar said quoting the study.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Ahmad Al-Otaibi, director of traffic in Makkah, said his department has made adequate preparations to control the expected heavy traffic during the 27th and 29th nights of Ramadan and Eid..
