Haj Season 1435/2014 ______________________________
1.3 million Muslims from abroad to perform Haj 
Tuesday 26 August 2014
More than 1.3 million foreign pilgrims are expected to perform Haj this year, according to the Haj Ministry. South Asian countries will send the largest contingent of 410,000 Hajis followed by Arab countries with 250,000.
About 228,000 pilgrims will come from Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia and Malaysia, while Turkey and European countries will send 190,000, non-Arab African countries 170,000 and Iran 63,000.
Saad Al-Qurashi, a member of the National Haj & Umrah Committee, said about 150,000 domestic pilgrims, including expatriates, would perform Haj this year. “Among them 41,000 will benefit from low-cost Haj services,” he told Arab News.
The Tawafa Organization for South Asia, which takes care of pilgrims from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, held a high-level meeting two days ago to review preparations for the annual pilgrimage.
Raafat Badr, chairman of the organization, urged heads of 115 field service groups to extend the best possible services to the guests of God to help them perform their religious duties in comfort.
The Haj Ministry, meanwhile, refuted reports that the government would take the assistance of foreign security companies to manage the annual pilgrimage, the largest gathering of Muslims in the world.
“These are just rumors. There is no need to take the assistance of foreign security companies as reported by some media,” an Interior Ministry source told Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic daily.
A Haj Ministry official emphasized that the Kingdom would employ only Saudi companies to manage Haj affairs.
“All companies we deal with during the Haj season are 100 percent Saudi,” said Hatim Qadi, deputy Haj minister, adding that companies that provide security services are licensed by the Interior Ministry.
Some foreign media reports claimed that the Haj Ministry was planning to appoint a company that cooperates with Israel to provide some services. The report was referring to Al-Majal, which is a Saudi company licensed by the Saudi Commerce Ministry 33 years ago, the Arabic daily said.
Mohammed Al-Othaim, a media expert, said such false reports were aimed at tarnishing the Kingdom’s image and create confusion among pilgrims. “They spread these false information through the social media including Facebook and Twitter using fake names,” he pointed out.
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/620936 SR32 billion revenues expected from Haj 
Muslim pilgrims throw pebbles at pillars during the "Jamarat" ritual, the stoning of Satan,
in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, in this October 15, 2013 file photo.
Tuesday 26 August 2014
Haj revenues this year are projected to reach almost SR32 billion, a three-percent increase from the SR31 billion spent in 2013, according to a recent study conducted by the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).
The study also forecast that around 1.4 million foreign pilgrims and 600,700 domestic pilgrims would perform Haj this year.
These figures indicate that 70 percent of Haj pilgrims come from abroad, contributing to a whopping 89 percent of revenues, or SR28 billion.
This year’s estimates are similar to last year’s figures based on the fact that government restrictions on the number of pilgrims remain in place due to ongoing expansion works at the Grand Mosque.
The number of pilgrims from foreign countries was cut by 20 percent, while the number of domestic pilgrims was scaled down by more than half to make way for the revamp.
Pilgrim spending was also estimated according to average expenditure in 2009. Foreign pilgrims had spent an average of just over SR17,000 each and domestic pilgrims around SR5,000 each that year.
The rise in price indices in subsequent years was also taken into account to come up with yearly averages.
A 2.7-percent inflation rate was registered during the first 10 months of this year, explaining the marginal increase.
The number of Haj pilgrims fell by 37 percent in 2013 compared with 2012, according to a study carried out by the Central Department of Statistics & Information.
The latest figures are a 21-percent decline from the 1.75 million foreigners that performed Haj in 2012 and a 57-percent decline from the 1.4 million locals who had traveled to Makkah for the pilgrimage that same year.
Naturally, pilgrims coming from economically advanced countries tend to spend more than people coming from poorer countries.
Male pilgrims, surprisingly, have been found to spend more than female pilgrims, according to the study.
http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/620941 Mina Day & Night
