Saudi to see rise in religious tourism

Saudi Arabian travel and tourism company The Elaf Group says it is expecting a significant increase in the number of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims this year.

Pilgrims from Egypt and Morocco will account for the biggest surge in the number of travellers coming for Hajj and Umrah in Mecca, while other countries expected to show an increase are Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Sudan, Turkey, Indonesia, Tajikistan, and South Africa.

Ziyad Ahmed Bin Mahfouz, CEO of Elaf Group, said: “We have positive expectations for this year as we have engaged in new contracts that will improve the delivery of our services and offerings to our clients and associate travel agencies. We anticipate a 25 percent rise in the number of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, with visitors from Egypt and Morocco predicted to account for the largest increases. Given these positive developments we expect our profits for 2010 to surpass last year’s figures.”