Saudi Arabia Hosting Largest Hajj Pilgrimage In 3 Years, Inflation And Economic Crises Rises

(CTN NEWS) – Beginning on Monday, Saudi Arabia will host the largest Hajj pilgrimage in the previous three years.

Global inflation and economic crises, however, made it more difficult for many pilgrims and for many others who couldn’t make it to complete Islam’s once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey.

The application process for the Hajj is a yearly ritual for Mohammed, a university professor in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. not this time though.

Egypt’s Economic Woes

Most of the time, you can make a sacrifice to pay for the pilgrimage. But this year, he claimed, it was too pricey. The rising cost of a Hajj package made it unaffordable after a number of recent significant family expenses.

Mohammed requested that his last name not be used for fear of retaliation considering the delicate nature of discussing Egypt’s economic problems.

Prices for Hajj have increased considerably as a result of global inflation, with expenditures rising for travel, lodging, and food in and around Mecca’s holy city.

In addition, a number of nations, including several with the largest Muslim populations in the world, are going through economic crises, which have resulted in sharp declines in the value of their national currencies.

This year, some countries struggled to meet their quota of pilgrims due to individuals baulking at the costs, which is surprising given how much more demand there is for pilgrimage locations than there are available.

Every country receives a certain number of seats for the pilgrimage from Saudi Arabia, typically about a tenth of one percent of the country’s Muslim population, in order to manage the numbers and offer a fair chance for everyone.

Saudi Arabia Banned Foreign Pilgrims

Saudi Arabia banned foreign pilgrims in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and last year it drastically decreased the numbers, cutting quotas in half or more. Most quotas are back to their pre-pandemic levels this year.

The overall number of Egyptian pilgrims this year has not yet been disclosed by the Egyptian authorities, but it looks to be less than the almost 80,000 who travelled in 2019 and previous years.

According to official reports in the local media, EgyptAir, the principal airline, indicated it will be transporting 35,000–45,000 Egyptian pilgrims.

4,000 more reportedly traveled by land, according to official media. When the AP asked for information on the number of pilgrims, officials did not respond.

Egypt has had escalating economic issues, including 40% inflation. In an effort to stem the loss of hard currency reserves and address increasing debt, the government has devalued the currency numerous times.

The Egyptian pound has lost 40% of its value relative to the Saudi riyal since the last pilgrimage.

Egypt Hajj Packages

Egypt allocates a portion of its quota through private businesses to sell, similar to many other nations, and a portion of its lower-cost, government-organized trips through a lottery to applicants.

According to official media, one of the less expensive Hajj packages is offered by the Interior Ministry and costs 175,000 Egyptian pounds, or around $5,663.

The same package cost 90,000 pounds, or $4,770 at the time, last year. Although the price has increased by about 20% in dollars, it has nearly doubled in pounds.

In contrast to this year, only 40 enquiries have been made, according to the manager of one Cairo-based travel business where he organised 100 Hajj journeys the previous year.

Due to the sensitivity of the subject, he talked on the condition of anonymity.

The restrictions that the majority of Egyptian banks impose on foreign currency withdrawals cause difficulty for both organisers and pilgrims. One travel agent claimed that because foreign airlines demand dollar payments,

he has been unable to arrange trips with them. For the duration of his weeklong stay, a journalist from the Associated Press can only withdraw 1,000 Saudi riyals, or about $266, due to banking limitations.

Nadia Awaad, a pilgrim, claimed she couldn’t afford to travel by airline therefore she would rather take the more expensive but longer land trip to Mecca. Before boarding a bus from Cairo, she added, “Even if it requires extra work, that’s not an issue.

Pakistan’s Pilgrimage Spots

Pakistan failed to meet its Hajj quota this year as a result of escalating inflation and a declining value of the currency.

A government worker in Rawalpindi named Abdul Majid claimed he had been saving money for the Hajj but that he had since abandoned his goal. I am unable to close the substantial gap between my savings and expenses.

Initially set at 1.175 million rupees, the cost of a government-organized trip represented a 69% increase over the rupee rate from the previous year.

However, at the last minute, officials reduced the price slightly, claiming they had discovered more affordable lodging options in Mecca.

About half of Pakistan’s 179,000 pilgrimage spots were filled by private tour operators.

However, despite a programme urging Pakistanis living overseas to deposit money into Pakistani bank accounts to sponsor a pilgrim at home, few people applied for the government-run vacancies.

In the end, Pakistan took the historically rare action of giving Saudi Arabia back 7,000 unused Hajj tickets.

The reverse issue exists in some nations, where there is a backlog of pilgrims eager to perform the Hajj as a result of the pandemic disruptions over the previous three years.

This year, Indonesia received an extra 8,000 Hajj spots from Saudi Arabia for a total of 229,000, and they were quickly filled. Indonesians may have to wait more than ten years to make the Hajj.

In addition to its quota of 31,600 slots, Malaysia requested an additional 10,000 spots, though Saudi Arabia has not publicly confirmed if it granted it.

India State-Organized Hajj Packages

India, which has 1.4 billion people and 14% of them are Muslims, has reduced the price of the state-organized Hajj packages, which are used by the majority of its pilgrims, by the equivalent of around $606, essentially providing a subsidy.

The entire contingent of more than 175,000 pilgrims from India is travelling.

Costs nevertheless had an effect. Private tour operators in India reported a decline in the number of travellers compared to the years before to the pandemic.

In order to wait for a better deal the next year, some people naturally postpone their plans, according to Hajj agent in New Delhi Mohammad Mukaram.

One of the largest Muslim populations in the world, Nigeria, was able to fill its quota of 95,000 pilgrims at the last minute after many states extended their payment deadlines, according to officials.

Would-be pilgrims who were delayed by the pandemic were sufficient to meet demand despite higher prices.

Adamu Yusuf, a frequent visitor to Mecca, stated that Nigerians would still travel even if the cost reached 10 million naira ($21,630).

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