With the number of pilgrims visiting Mecca expected to surge over the next decade, international hotel operators are increasingly looking at opportunities in the holy city.
The Haj attracts the biggest concentration of travellers, with up to 2.7 million pilgrims expected to undertake the journey this year. Branded hotels that are already open run at 100 per cent occupancy and greatly inflate their rates for the season.
There could be scope to increase the number of hotel rooms in Mecca to 82,000 from about 50,000 rooms, said the consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.
One of the largest developments is Jabal Omar, which should eventually have about 10,000 hotel rooms under the management of major international hotel companies.
About 7.8 million Muslims visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina each year on Haj and Umrah, for which pilgrimages are undertaken throughout the year.
"Our analysis of potential capacity constraints suggests that the total number of Haj and Umrah pilgrims visiting Mecca and Medina could almost double to 13.75 million by 2019," according to a report by Jones Lang LaSalle.
The Saudi Arabian government has allocated a significant portion of its budget to be spent on increasing the number of hotel rooms in the holy cities to accommodate more religious tourists. As well as improving the overall infrastructure, a US$1.8 billion (Dh6.61bn) metro train service is now operational, connecting the main destinations that pilgrims visit on Haj.
But analysts also say that growth is being held back by problems visitors have had in obtaining visas.
rbundhun@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
