Geography and Tourism

Running Head: TOURISM IN MECCA Tourism in Mecca [Name of Student] [Name of Institution] [Date] Introduction The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries of the world and is a great way for countries to promote culture and boost economy at the same time. Many countries are developing tourist attractions to grow their local tourism. Mecca is one of the largest tourist attractions in the world for Muslims as more than 2.5 million visit the city to perform religious rituals each year in the Hajj season. The aim of this essay is to examine the tourism industry of Saudi Arabia and Mecca in particular. Tourism The tourism industry has seen a rapid growth in past couple of decades is considered to be the worlds most diversified and fastest growing economic sectors. Development has been closely linked with tourism as countries strive to increase the number of tourist destinations in their region to attract more tourist each year (World Tourism Organization, 2013). For this very reason, tourism is considered to be an important factor in the socio-economic progress. The business of tourism has surpassed the oil, food, and automobile industries and is now one of the big players in the international business arena. For many developing countries, it remains the main source of income and the industry is also responsible for providing employment and improving the economy. The tourism industry of a country also has an indirect effect on other industries like telecommunication, construction, etc. as their demand increases with a flourishing tourism industry (World Tourism Organization, 2013). Aside from development, tourism is also closely linked with culture as it helps in building an intercultural relationship among people. Tourism gives the host country a chance to promote their culture and use their heritage and traditions to attract tourism to their country. Tourists visiting other countries look for a different and rich cultural experience resulting in preservation of local culture and tradition. Mecca Mecca, the holiest city of the religion of Islam, is situated in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is considered to be the most important place by the Muslims. Not only is it the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad but Muslims all around the world face toward Mecca during their prayers. Pilgrimage to the city of Mecca in the month of Dhul Hijjah (the last month in the Islamic calendar) at least once in a lifetime is one of the five pillars of Islam (Timothy and Olsen, 2006). Around two million Muslims from all over the world arrive at Mecca during the last month of the holy calendar each year for pilgrimage. Only Muslims are allowed to travel to Mecca as the city is off-limits to non-Muslims while the rest of Saudi Arabia is shut for tourism all together. The large amount of people visiting Mecca each year requires a lot of planning and arrangement by the government of Saudi Arabia. The government of Saudi Arabia has invested a lot of money to improve the overall experience of Mecca for the tourist. The tourism in Mecca is not affected by the global economy as the number of tourists vising Mecca keeps on increasing every year (Timothy and Olsen, 2006). There is more demand than supply as Muslims cannot perform Hajj any place other than Mecca. Tourism in Mecca The event of Hajj itself requires a lot of planning and organization as the pilgrims orbit Ka`bah and "perform a number of sacred rituals inside and outside al-masjid al-haram at various locations in and near Mecca" (Timothy and Nyaupane, 2009, pp. 149). Though Hajj is strictly rejected by the Saudi government as any kind of tourism as they consider tourism to be an exhibition of "stereotypical hedonistic behavior" (Tomothy and Olsen, 2006, pp. 194), when viewed from to international perspective of tourism, Hajj is considered to be one of the largest tourist gatherings around the world. The reason for this is that the whole event of Hajj from the beginning to the end r closely resembles cultural tourism in many ways. To begin with, many guides are hired by the government of Saudi Arabia within the vicinities of Mecca and Madina every year during the Hajj season (Timothy and Nyaupane, 2009). Along with these guides, many other people are also hired to provide for transportation, accommodation, food and other goods, and other services to meet the needs of the pilgrims. Secondly, the event of Hajj itself has become quite modernized as many luxurious services are provided to pilgrims who can afford them, such as hotels, guided tours, air conditioned buses, etc. On the other hand, pilgrims who are less sufficient have the opportunity to sell their handmade and other traditional goods along the way to Mecca which allows them to make up for their cost of Hajj (Timothy and Nyaupane, 2009). In addition to this, the pilgrims also indulge in other cultural festivals, like Hajj fairs along the travel routes, and religious trips, like ziarat in which the tourists visit different sites associated with Prophet Mohammad, imams, and saints. Other than Hajj, Mecca also hosts Umrah which is also a pilgrimage for Muslims but requires a shorter time duration than Hajj and can be performed many times in a year unlike Hajj which only takes place once a year. Pilgrims arrive in Mecca all around the year to perform Umrah adding to its already large Hajj tourism. It can be said that Islam has a big influence on tourism in the Muslim world as the religious pilgrimages make up for most of the tourism in the Middle East and has a significant impact on the overall economy of Saudi Arabia. PESTEL Analysis A PESTEL analysis is an effective tool which is used to develop a better understanding of the external or macro environment in which an organization is operating. These factors in the environment present both, opportunities to advance and threats to survival. This information is very useful in making strategic business decision which can help in increasing the profitability. As far as the tourism industry is concerned, it is more of a global phenomenon and thus, the international market would serve as the macro environment in which the tourism industry of a given country is operating. PESTLE stands for the political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, and legal environment (Lorat, 2009). Following is the PESTEL analysis of the tourism industry of Mecca. Political As far as the government of Saudi Arabia is concerned, it is an absolute monarchy with the King of Saudi Arabia being the head of the state and government. The constitution of the country is based on the teachings of Qur`an and there is no dispute regarding the Islamic law being practiced in the country. As far as the politics of Saudi Arabia is concerned it can be said that the political situation is quite stable and poses no threat to the tourism in Mecca. Though the government prohibits any non-Muslim tourists from visiting, the target population remains huge as there are 1.8 billion Muslims around the world who visit Mecca time and time again for Hajj and Umrah. The Law of the country is very strict and tourists are given full protection. Moreover, due to the religious beliefs associated with the city of Mecca, the rate of crime is minimal. Appropriate accommodation and other arrangements are made by the government in time to cater to the tourists each year and people belonging to all socio-economic backgrounds are welcome. Economy Since Saudi Arabia is oil based economy and is very strong. It`s a growing economy with an increasing GDP. Though the economy of Saudi Arabia is quite strong overall the food inflation in the region is quite high as it increased by 6.2% in 2013 (Al-Jessem, 2013). This could be a matter of concern for the tourists visiting Mecca for Umrah and Hajj. However, since these pilgrimages are considered to be sacred and are highly regarded by the Muslim community, the pilgrims are also given much respect and most of the time the food is provided at these sites for free. The people living in the neighborhood and pilgrims that are well off themselves often share food and everyone is welcome to eat togeth...