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Activities in Saudi Arabia

The largest religious tourism market in the region is Saudi Arabia, home to two of Islams holiest cities, Makkah and Madinah. Visiting Makkah and Madinah for either Hajj or Umrah is a highlight for most Muslims. Total visitors for Hajj and Umrah have increased from 5.3 million to 7.7 million over the past five years. The religious tourism industry in Saudi Arabia generates an estimated US$7 billion annually, with the market expected to grow rapidly in the years ahead. There are a number of major initiatives underway to alleviate infrastructure constraints and enable the holy cities to accommodate a larger number of visitors. The Center of Research Excellence in Hajj and Omrah estimates that the planned investments will increase the potential number of pilgrims to around 13.8 million by Hijri Year 1440 (2019). To increase connectivity, Saudi Arabia has announced plans to allocate US$100 billion to transport infrastructure over the next ten years. Transportation initiatives include the building / upgrading of the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the Haramain High Speed Railway and stations between Makkah and Madinah, Madinah Airport, the King Abdullah Economic City Seaport in Jeddah and the Makkah monorail which links the centre of Makkah with the holy sites at Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. Increasing pilgrim numbers will provide significant opportunities for investment in hotels and other tourism related facilities throughout the country.

Initiatives elsewhere
Egypt, Syria and Jordan are all exploiting their Muslim heritage and historic sites. Cairo and Damascus are among the most important ancient centres of Arab civilisation, and their numerous holy sites are already attracting thousands of visitors each year. In Syria, large-scale developments in the main cities and on the Mediterranean coast are a big draw to capture increasing tourism revenues. Jordan is also a huge growth market, targeting tourism revenues of US$2.4 billion per annum by 2010, a 60 per cent increase on 2007. Lebanon has a diverse faith profile and religious tourism opportunities are expected to grow. Iraq is emerging as an important player in the religious tourism sector. The potential for reconstruction of numerous holy places, historic monuments and cultural sites is vast. Places of religious significance, such as Najaf and Karbala, already attract millions of pilgrims annually. Najaf is visited by some eight million pilgrims a year and transport improvements,
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