Beirut (APD) - Ahead of the new Umrah pilgrimage season in Saudi Arabia, business service providers to domestic and international Muslim pilgrims expect Umrah revenues to grow continuously over the coming years and reach SR 14.1 billion ($3.75 billion) by 2012, the London-based Asharq al Awsat daily reported Thursday.
"If Umrah service providers organize Umrah seasons in a better way, then we will have more than 5 million Umrah performers and will achieve those results in 2012," said the chairman of Jeddah-based Global Arabian for Modern Application Limited Company (GAMA), Abdallah Sanadi.
Information technology firm GAMA is an authorized Umrah Application Service Provider (UASP), or a firm that handles pilgrimage applications which visitors to the Islamic holy sites have to submit before going on their journey of faith.
Sanadi added that last year, more than 3 million individuals performed Umrah. Total spending by the pilgrims amounted to around SR 7 billion and more than 200 official Umrah service providers benefit from these revenues, including commercial shops, hotels and transportation firms.
The Umrah is a pilgrimage that Muslims can perform throughout the year, with the exception of the Hajj season. It is an important economic factor for Saudi Arabia.
"Umrah rituals provides 8,000 job opportunities for Saudi youth and boosts other economic sectors," the minister of Hajj, Iyad Madani said in 2004.
One year ago, the ministry of Hajj issued new regulations on licenses for Umrah service providers for the years 2006 to 2011, stipulating the provision of financial cover, administrative efficiency and in-depth experience required from licensed providers.
In an attempt to decrease the number of Umrah pilgrims who fail to leave Saudi Arabia after performing the rituals, the new regulations imposed sanctions on Umrah service providers if the percentage of overstayers exceeded 5% of all pilgrims who visited the holy sites under the auspices of the company.
Saudi authorities and Umrah service providers expect that electronic pilgrimage applications, which had first been introduced in 2001, will play an increasing role in improving the swift processing of Umrah applications and monitoring of violations. [TS]
By Nadim Issa, APD Staff Writer in Beirut
© APD (Arab Press Digest) 2006
