Background of the Study
Religious tourism has become a key segment in the economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as it diversifies its revenue sources. Annually, millions of pilgrims visit Mecca for Hajj, the fifth pillar and the most symbolic demonstration of Islamic belief and oneness in the world. Every Muslim is mandated to honor Hajj once in their lifetime if they have the physical and financial capability. In 2019, estimates by Statista indicate that 2.5 million pilgrims visited Mecca for Hajj (Statista, 2022). The annual event significantly influences the region’s economy as millions of visitors tour the holy city of Mecca for Hajj. The Kingdom’s hotels, shopping malls, Saudi Airlines, restaurants, and the transport sector record significant profits during the Hajj pilgrimage.
When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in 2019, it affected a key source of non-oil revenue for the Saudi economy. Regulations limiting traveling, and gatherings and the imposition of curfews negatively affected religious tourism in Saudi Arabia. The 2020 global lockdowns and travel restrictions to contain the spread of the virus saw Saudi Arabia limit the number of local and international pilgrims visiting Mecca from an estimated 2 million to 60,000 visitors (Alam, Sinaga, Roespinoedji and Azmi, 2021). As the COIVD-19 brought businesses to a standstill globally, the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia was not an exception. To adequately respond to the implications of the pandemic to a critical source of revenue, it is imperative to understand how the global pandemic affected religious tourism in the Kingdom. Different studies have focused on the implications of COVID-19 to religious tourism in Saudi Arabia for the year 2019.
This research provides knowledge using Mecca as the center of the study as it represents a key destination for religious tourists. The findings of this study can thereby be generalized to describe the impacts of the pandemic on religious tourism in other nations, as the results can apply to different countries or religions. The research will provide reliable data on the implication of the COVID-19 pandemic to businesses, the government, and pilgrims in Mecca.
Need for the Study
The research findings will provide reliable insight to government policymakers, researchers, businesses, academicians, and other stakeholders on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on religious tourism in Saudi Arabia. Recent studies on this topic analyze the effect of COVID-19 on religious tourism for the years 2019 and 2020 (Bataineh, 2022). The study offers comprehensive research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from the onset to 2022, when its results have been reduced. Therefore, this research allows researchers to compare the performance of religious tourism in the Kingdom at different durations during the pandemic. This comparison will enhance capabilities to estimate the implications of the pandemic on the religious tourism in the Kingdom. As a more recent study, this research will address effects that other researchers might have overlooked, as they might have been minimal at the time of the survey.
The study results will be essential for society as it provides knowledge of human behavior during a global pandemic. The study findings will also be crucial for the General Authority for Zakat and Tax (GAZT) in understanding the extent of economic damage brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. This information will be essential for GAZT in setting tax filing dates, fees, and reductions as it aims at supporting the economy from the shock. The research findings will also be significant for organizations like the Deauville Partnership in understanding the current economic consequence of the pandemic. Hence, developing a reliable financial framework to support the Kingdom creates a stable and inclusive economy (OECD, 2022). The study will further offer concrete empirical research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on religious tourism destinations.
Purpose of the Study
The study employs a quantitative approach to gather primary data relating to some of the implications of COVID-19 on the religious tourism in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The research will ask the target population questions regarding the pandemic’s significance to their business or behavior. The research questions the success of government response to the pandemic and human behavior while offering alternative solutions for addressing the COVID-19 implications to religious tourism. The study also explores the COVID-19 pandemic implications to religious tourism based on the available literature and further narrows the research to Mecca.
Research Question and Objectives
The research questions for the study include:
- Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect visits to Mecca for the pilgrimage?
- How did the business perform in earnings in the year ending 2021?
- How did the religious tourism sector perform in revenue generated in the year ending 2021?
Dissertation Structure and Content
The sturdy structure comprises six chapters, with chapter one introducing the research topic. Biggam (2018) recommends a well-structured research paper is essential in improving the readability of the study. The literature review makes up the second chapter which pertains to an appraisal of available literature to locate any effective methods, gaps, or theories within the existing research. The third chapter describes the investigation’s strategies to ensure the study’s validity and reliability. The fourth chapter presents the study results, while chapter five will provide a discussion of the findings and their effects. Chapter six will finalize the structure of the study by giving a conclusion that illustrates the contribution of the research; other essential elements include an abstract, title page, appendix, table of content, or reference list.
Reference List
Alam, G., Sinaga, O., Roespinoedji, D. and Azmi, F., 2021. The Impacts of Covid-19 To Saudi Arabia’s Economic Sector and Hajj Pilgrimage Policy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, [online] 12(8), pp.463-472. Web.
Bataineh, M., 2020. COVID-19 and Religious Tourism: an overview of impacts and Implications. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, [online] 8(7). Web.
Biggam, J., 2018. Succeeding with your Master’s dissertation. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
OECD, 2022. The Deauville Partnership and the OECD. [online] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Statista, 2022. Saudi Arabia: Hajj population | Statista. [online] Annual number of Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia from 1999 to 2019. Web.