DEVELOPMENT OF THE HOLY CITIES
With the revision of religious quotas to allow more Muslims into the Kingdom, a huge amount of investment is going on in the Holy City of Makkah, and a project for expansion of the Holy Mosque will see the site eventually accommodate two million worshippers.
However, the expansion of the Holy City is not something that is being done overnight. The government aims to ensure that health and safety regulations are upheld before more tourists are invited in.
Hewett says: “The government wants to ensure there is accommodation, infrastructure and transport to accommodate the number of visitors, and as the Holy Site expands they’ll be able to bring more pilgrims in slowly.”
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Philips agrees, adding that he thinks the government is doing things the right way: “They are waiting until they have all their facilities up to scratch and that the Holy Site can accommodate this number of people so it will only grow but gradually with time.”
Following recent years during which less religious tourists have been going to the holy cities due to religious quotas and construction work around the Haram, Philips says that the next few years will see more growth.
He comments: “The Muslim population throughout the world continues to grow and as travel becomes more affordable I can only see [the segment] getting bigger.”
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