Why Haj will soon be the new oil for Saudi Arabia

NEW DELHI: Over 2 million Muslims + on Sunday started the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest annual gatherings. The six-day journey is one of the five pillars of Islam, and is considered a once-in-a-lifetime religious duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it -- retracing the route Prophet Mohammad took 14 centuries ago.

India connect: Over 1.28 lakh Indian pilgrims + have reached Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Haj pilgrimage -- facilitated by the government to undertake the pilgrimage through the Haj Committee this year. As many as 466 flights have brought the Indian pilgrims to perform the annual Haj pilgrimage and the last flight landed Friday morning, according to the Indian consulate in Jeddah.



Rising numbers: Saudi Arabia hopes to welcome 30 million pilgrims annually by 2030. Around 54 million pilgrims have attended the haj over the past 25 years.




Rising profit: . The pilgrimage industry is the country's second most important after oil and gas. Haj and the umrah pilgrimage (which can be performed at any time of the year) add an estimated $12 billion a year to Saudi's GDP. That's about 20% of the kingdom's non-oil GDP and 7% of total GDP. Haj alone contributes about $5-6 billion. Experts believe that revenue from pilgrimage will top $150 billion by 2022. Many luxury hotels have sprung up in Mecca, offering, among other amenities, the view of the Grand Mosque; a suite can be as costly as $5,880 a night.

And for those who cannot afford to book hotels on site, Saudi Arabia is offering free sleeping pods. Between 18 and 24 modern hotel capsules will be offered to pilgrims to nap in for free in the coming six days. These free nap pods -- each less than three meters long and just over one meter high— will be placed in Mina, a western city near the Holy city of Mecca, reported the Xinhua news agency. The pods provide a space in which pilgrims can change their clothes, take a shower and store their luggage and valuables.




Falling oil: The country's economy is heavily dependent on oil — the sector accounts for roughly 87% of budget revenues, 42% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. However, given the fluctuations in oil prices, the kingdom has laid out a plan to reduce its oil dependence and increase non-oil revenue.

The new oil: Vision 2030 unveiled by the new prince looks to boost the kingdom's non-oil economy with pilgrimages at the centre. The country has announced plans to set up a development company that, in phase one, plans to add 115 new buildings, 70,000 hotel rooms, 9,000 housing units and 3.6 lakh sq metres of commercial space to increase capacity for pilgrims and visitors to the holy sites. That also means creating over 1.5 lakh jobs.