Saudi Arabia officially cancels Hajj, will thoroughly restore tourism from 21 June

Amir Mecca has officially announced the cancellation of the annual hajj pilgrimage this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hajj is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, hajj draws about 2 million people to Saudi Arabia each year.

However, following the postponement of other major events like the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Saudi officials have faced pressure to cancel this year’s hajj to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

This year’s hajj is supposed to take place from July 29 to Aug. 4, but Saudi Arabia has yet to lift an international travel ban implemented on May 20. Other countries have already declined to send pilgrims this year.

A cancellation of the hajj could put further economic pressure on a country still reeling from the drop in oil demand brought upon by the pandemic. Those making the pilgrimage were expected to generate $12 billion for the kingdom.

Ironically, Saudi Arabia has announced that the tourism sector will be completely restored across the country from 21st June.

The Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib said that the tourism sector would be fully restored across the country but the tourism sector in Makkah would be banned.

He said that such a long ban on the sector had jeopardized the employment of people associated with the tourism sector. It should be noted that tourism in Saudi Arabia is a sector whose employees constitute 12 percent of the total employment and 13 percent of the gross national product of the Arab countries is also derived from tourism.

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