Three years after pandemic-related restrictions, Hajj is going to be performed on a full scale in the current season as some 2.0 million pilgrims from across the world are set to attend the five-day-long rituals. It was in 2019, the last year before the world was almost shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, when around 2.5 million people performed Hajj. In 2020, amid the lockdowns sparked by the pandemic, Saudi Arabia cancelled Hajj for all but only 1,000 residents of the country. It was seen as an unprecedented move as during the 1918 flu epidemic Hajj was not entirely cancelled. As the situation did not improve significantly, around 60,000 domestic pilgrims attended Hajj in 2021. Again, pilgrims from outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were not allowed. Finally, in 2022, a total of 1.0 million pilgrims performed Hajj as the KSA government eased the corona-related restrictions.
Such prohibitions do not exist anymore, as the coronavirus is no longer a global health emergency. In the current year, all types of restrictions related to the pandemic have been withdrawn to allow pilgrims, as many as possible, to perform Hajj. So, there is an expectation that this year's Hajj will come back to pre-Covid level. Hajj-related economic activities will also get a significant boost as spinoffs.
Over the decades, the size of the Hajj-centric economy has expanded gradually. It is estimated that around 7.0 per cent of KSA's GDP originates from Hajj-and Umrah-related activities. The country becomes a major site for religious tourism across the world, with millions visiting the country to perform Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages in the holy city of Makkah and Madina. In 2015, KSA launched a $21-billion project to expand the Grand Mosque in Makkah to accommodate 300,000 additional pilgrims. A year later, then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman identified the pilgrimage as a key component of a plan to diversify the Saudi economy by 2030.
According to Future Market Insights (FMI), the Hajj and Umrah tourism market was expected to fetch revenue of US$ 150 billion in 2022 and is likely to cross US$ 350 billion in 2032. Not only KSA, other countries sending pilgrims are also getting the benefit due to the related economic activities, especially travel, aviation and hospitality industry.
Hajj is an obligatory religious duty for any Muslim who has physical, mental and financial abilities. And in that case, a Muslim has to perform it at least once in his/her lifetime. Hajj begins on the 8th day of Dhul Hijjah (the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar) and ends by the 13th day. The date for Hajj occurs 11 days earlier each year because the Islamic calendar is 11 days shorter than the international calendar used across the world. Thus the Hajj can be performed once in a year. This year's formal rituals of Hajj will take place from June 26 to July 1, subject to the appearance of the moon.
Umrah, the smaller version of Hajj, is not a must-do but Muslims are highly encouraged to perform it too. It can be performed any time of the year except during the Hajj days. The KSA government usually restricts Umrah for non-Hajj pilgrims during the Hajj season. During the Hajj seasons, all the traders and businessmen in Saudi Arabia, Makkah and Madina to be specific, try to do a brisk business. Hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, minimarts, shops, transport- service providers all are now eagerly waiting to recoup a part of business losses in the last few years. A vibrant economic activity during the Hajj season will bring a great relief for the investors, some of whom have already wound up their business being unable to bear the loss.
In 2023, a total of 120,491 pilgrims from Bangladesh are going for Hajj. Of them, 10,074 will perform hajj under the government management while 110,417 under private management. As the KSA allocated 127,198 Hajj quota for Bangladesh, there is an unfulfilled quota of 6,707. As per agreement with KSA, the unused quota has to be surrendered. An increased cost of Hajj is the main reason for the non-fulfilment of the total quota this year.
Bangladesh is not alone in this connection. Pakistan, for the first time in 75 years, has surrendered around 8,000 Hajj quotas to KSA due to rising inflation in the country. It will, however, save the country some $24 million. Pakistan was allocated a quota of 179,210 this year, the third largest. Indonesia got 221,000 in quota for Hajj, the highest, followed by India with 175,025. As a few countries surrendered the unfulfilled quotas, KSA transferred those to other countries looking for additional seats. For instance, Indonesia has received 8,000 additional quotas.
The first Hajj flight from Bangladesh takes off today. Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the Hajj programme. Over the years, the government has improved the Hajj management significantly, which is praiseworthy. Introduction of pre-registration system, extended use of digital technology to provide all the information and services, withdrawal of police verification of pilgrims, streamlining the private agencies and bringing more aircraft in the national flag-carrier make the things better and efficient. There is still scope to improve the whole thing further. High airfare is one of the issues than needs to be addressed. It is expected that things will be better in the near future.
For Muslims, Hajj is not merely an important spiritual travel. In fact, it is the largest, most impressive and most important spiritual pilgrimage. It is a physically exacting travel that offers a chance to wipe clean past sins and start anew before the Almighty Allah. The annual grand congregation of the Muslims takes place at the holy mosque of Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and the nearby mount Arafah. Some Islamic scholars have termed the Hajj 'annual march past' of Muslims around the Kabah, an 'annual world moot at Arafah and Muzdalifah' and 'annual camping and social dinners at the plateau of Mina' to demonstrate and keep alive the spirit of solidarity and unity of Ummah. Devotion, tolerance, hardship and sacrifice blended with joy of spiritual achievement and trade in services make the Hajj a unique event in the world.
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