MAKKAH, 2 January 2007 — Pilgrims have spent SR10 billion in Makkah alone so far, according to a senior official at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).
“The Haj-related business activities this year have increased at least by 10 percent compared to last year,” said Abdul Jalil Kaaki, chairman of the MCCI’s Haj, Umrah and Tourism Committee.
Kaaki said that the increase in the number of the pilgrims this year has reflected on the volume of their spending. He noted that the huge intake in cash at newly-built five-star hotels in Makkah during the Haj season indicated the preference of wealthy pilgrims to live in luxury residential facilities.
The MCCI official said the hotel sector has earned SR7 billion this season while the food and restaurant sector would have received an estimated SR1 billion. On the other hand, the transportation sector is estimated to have earned over SR1 billion. This includes the transportation of domestic pilgrims to the holy city, travel within Makkah, and trips to and from holy sites.
The MCCI official said that pilgrims would have also spent a huge amount on sacrificial animals and that the telecommunication sector has earned a huge amount of money this year.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Atwa, director of development at Makkah Hilton said the entire hotel sector in Makkah, with all its varying levels, was extremely busy. He added that hotels were 100 percent full this year, something, which he says, indicates that the sector has room for further investments.
“The increased investments in the various sections of the hotel business will be profitable in light of the increasing number of Umrah and Haj pilgrims in the coming years,” Ibrahim said.
A sum of SR2 billion is expected to have been spent on the purchase of souvenir and gift items. According to a businessman in Makkah, pilgrims are tempted to buy gifts and various other items in Makkah as they are cheaper here than in their home countries.
Abdullah Suleiman Al-Mushat, a proprietor of a chain of shops selling gift items and ready made garments in various districts in Makkah, said, “During this Haj season the demand for readymade clothes has been 25 percent higher than previous years. This is largely because of the cold winter.”
He added that domestic pilgrims were also making huge purchases. He hoped that sales over the coming weeks would come to a peak as foreign pilgrims would be preparing for their return home.
He also observed that in all parts of Makkah, shops were very busy as pilgrims were now residing in residential districts away from the Grand Mosque. He added that pilgrims mainly flock to shops in Aziziah, Al-Mansour Street, Al-Rusaifah and Sitteen Street.
Abdu Lobay, a Tawafa official said Nigerian pilgrims were attracted to buy gold and clothes. “Besides performing the pilgrimage, Nigerians aim to make their journey profitable and so they buy a lot of goods to sell in their home countries,” he said.
He also said that the shops close to the pilgrim accommodations get the highest number of buyers and thus higher profits as well. This fact also encourages hawkers to display their ware on the pavements near to where pilgrims generally stay.
