Study: Hajj season revenue may rise 3% this year to SAR 31.7 bln

Saudi Arabia’s revenue from the forthcoming hajj season may rise by three percent compared to last year to SAR 31.7 billion, a study conducted by Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimated.

The study expected international pilgrims to contribute 89 percent of total hajj revenue this year (SAR 28.2 billion), three percent higher than last year; while revenues from resident pilgrims may rise three percent above last year’s level to SAR 3.5 billion.

See the following table for more details:

total	%	International pilgrims	%	Resident pilgrims	Inflation (%)
31.5	--	28.1	--	3.5	--	2009
37.6	+16%	32.5	+47%	5.1	%3.8	2010
40.1	+5%	34.2	+15%	5.9	%3.7	2011
41.5	(%1)	33.7	+32%	7.7	2.9%	2012
30.9	(%19)	27.5	(%56)	3.4	%3.5	2013
31.7	%3+	28.2	+3%	3.5	2.7%	2014

 

The total number of pilgrims this year would remain unchanged from last year, given the 50 and 20 percent caps on number of resident pilgrims and international pilgrims respectively, due to the expansion works on the holy mosque.

 

The study said around two million pilgrims would visit the holy places this year, of which roughly 1.4 million will come from abroad.

 

The following table shows the historical development in pilgrim numbers since 2009:

 

Pilgrims (million)

%	Total	International pilgrims		Resident pilgrims
--	2.31		1.61	0.70	2009
+21%	2.79		1.80	0.99	2010
+5%	2.93		1.83	1.10	2011
+8%	3.16		1.75	1.41	2012
(%37)	1.98		1.38	0.60	2013

--

1.98

1.38

0.60

2014