Saudi Arabia focuses on religious tourism
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 aims to host 30 million religious tourists by 2030. Through various construction projects, the kingdom is clearly seeking to increase the overall capacity for incoming Hajj and Umrah visitors and to anticipate the problems often associated with overtourism.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 will see investment in tourism
In 2016, Saudi Arabia announced that it would embark on a unique and transformative economic and social reform, called Saudi Vision 2030, which would open the country to the world. One of the key strategic sectors for development mapped out in Vision 2030 is tourism.
As part of Vision 2030, the kingdom has set an ambitious target of attracting 100 million domestic and international tourists annually by 2030. In 2019, pre-Covid-19, Saudi Arabia welcomed 17.3 million international arrivals. Now that international travel has resumed following the disruption caused by the pandemic, GlobalData predicts that arrivals will reach 18.8 million by 2025, surpassing pre-Covid levels. Visits to Saudi Arabia are led by ‘other personal’ travel, which is not surprising given the high demand for religious pilgrimages.
Saudi Arabia’s Mecca could face overtourism
In line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, the already popular religious destination aims to attract more than 30 million religious tourists per year by 2030. The city of Makkah has hosted the annual Hajj pilgrimage for more than 14 centuries. The Hajj journey lasts five days, and the city also hosts Umrah pilgrims year-round.
Before Covid, more than two million pilgrims from all over the world would gather for Hajj every year, and around eight million would travel for Umrah. However, the importance of the holy city of Mecca goes far beyond its size, due to its status as the holiest city and the privilege of hosting Hajj. This poses a potential problem, as the large number of pilgrims during the Hajj period could lead to overtourism if not managed effectively. Overtourism can cause several local problems, such as rising rents, overcrowding during certain periods, and degradation of nature.
Targeted efforts to improve the pilgrim experience and capacity
Nevertheless, key to Vision 2030 are a number of large-scale, complex and multi-functional construction projects. According to GlobalData’s Construction Projects Database, there are 595 active ongoing and upcoming construction projects in Saudi Arabia (as of November 4, 2022). In development are focused efforts to enhance the pilgrimage experience and accommodate a greater number of religious tourists. This includes the $35 billion redevelopment of King Abdulaziz Airport (Jeddah International Airport), which serves as a gateway to Saudi Arabia for a large number of pilgrims and is currently expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to GlobalData’s Construction Projects Database. Construction includes a dedicated Hajj terminal.
Other projects include the $16 billion Mecca Metro project, which involves the construction of four new metro lines to serve holy sites in Mecca, and the $60 million construction of Mecca’s two holy mosques. Such investments should allow Saudi Arabia and the city of Mecca to strike a balance between managing tourist flows and reaping economic benefits.
“Saudi Arabia invests heavily to accommodate growing religious tourism” was originally created and published by Hotel Management Networka brand of GlobalData.
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