Before the pandemic, devout tourism was a giant company, destined only to grow. But even what is at stake is not immune to its clutches, and some governments absolutely forbid pilgrimage and final shrines. After only a handful of pilgrims have been able to participate in a socially remote Hayy, what does devoted tourism reserve?
As tourism forums face their peak difficult year to date, airlines seek subsidies and unemployment in the sector soars, Covid-19 has revealed how much the global tourism industry economy depends.
When the epidemic first seized, the benefits to agencies seemed to be severe. Five months later, with the British government building new quarantine regulations for Spain, Australia’s borders remain tightly closed and Hays Travel (who bought Thomas Cook’s stores) is reported to have cut nearly 900 jobs. Covid-19’s coup to the tourism industry, which was already in a desperate situation, is somewhat irreparable.
Before the pandemic, an industry suffering was seeking salvation in faith, and each solar tower brought with it some six hundred million devoted and non-secular journeys, 40% of them in Europe and more than part of Asia. An interest in development before Covid-19 is reflected in the fact that, last year, a record of 347578 led the direction of pilgrimage from Santiago de Compostela to Spain, extending the old road to complete its capacity, while the annual pilgrimage from Arba’een to Karbala, Iraq attracted more than 25 million pilgrims.
“Religious tourism is undervalued,” says Lonely Planet Tharik Hussain, who recounts how it evolved on an unforeseen scale. “We seem to think we are becoming less and less devoted, but when you look at the data, devout tourism is on the rise, as more and more people move to those sites in search of meaning. And pilgrimages like the Hajj boom because Muslims are getting richer and more able to move.
Covid-19 has cast a key in the work, however, for countries according to this expansion trajectory. Iran became the third fastest developing tourist destination in the world in 2019, with a year-on-year expansion of 27.9%. However, coronavirus has particularly reduced the number of tourists and the number of other people visiting its Yazd World Heritage site has decreased by 99%. And although the direction of pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain last year reached its total capacity, after a long closure and an increasing number of cases, these numbers appear to be seriously reduced.
Saudi Arabia is another country that had giant devoted tourism projects. The saddled Muslim pilgrims got herels, boarded boats or set off on foot to Mecca for more than 1,400 years, and that number had increased. Last year, 1.8 million pilgrims from 160 countries arrived in Saudi Arabia for Hayj, while tens of millions more arrived in Umrah the year. These pilgrimages were worth $12 billion for the Saudi economy, equivalent to 20% of the kingdom’s non-oil GDP and 7% of total GDP.
As a component of a broader plan to withdraw from its economic dependence on oil, it opened its doors to foreign tourists for the first time in September last year. And with big plans for this year’s Hajy, he set out to have the pilgrim revel in making an investment in transportation and luxury hotels, hoping that, if done right, Hajj and Omra’s income could exceed $150 billion by 2022.
The Ministry of Hajj and Omra also introduced a pilot task where portable smart cards would scan pilgrims in Mecca, and created a three-dimensional virtual edition of the Masjid Al Haram Mosque so pilgrims could learn about the location. and design before we arrive.
Unfortunately, the best-designed plans go wrong and the Hajj 2020 tells a very different story. Frustrating for Saudi Arabia, it had to degrade the cash festival. And to make matters worse, in April, oil costs fell at a negative price for the first time in history.
Although the government has not published official figures, Hajjis from outside the country have not been allowed to arrive in Mecca due to the threat of infection, with estimates that between 1000 and 10,000 worshippers from the interior of the country have decided and allowed the special part of the country – socially estranged, of course.
2020 was about to be the year the tourism industry was tested when established agencies put in place plans to prevent them from dying on the cross like Thomas Cook. But without an eye finish, you’re unlikely to expect how severe the lasting effects of Covid-19 will be.
If corporations in this sector can come out of death, they will be the ones built around the faith. It is, after all, an unlikely resource to run out.
This article refers to: World, Religion, Marketing, Branding
Hit spot C-suite. 75% of Readers of The Drum Magazine are high or senior executives.
Get our unique multi-format monthly content.
Subscribe and be polite, entertaining and trained.
© Carnyx Group Ltd 2020 The Drum is a registered trademark and property of Carnyx Group Limited. All rights are reserved.
Do you want to read this article and others like it? All you have to do is be a member of The Drum. The critical subscription is fast, loose, and you can get daily updates.