Ahead of the Hajj procession in Arafat for all Saudi pilgrims on Friday, I recall the detailed economic study on the Hajj and Umrah (Mini-Hajj) ecosystem conducted last year by Bank Indonesia Syariah Institute (BSI) in collaboration with various relevant ministries and stakeholders.
The study, which revealed the scale of money going out to finance Hajj and Umrah activities, has opened Pandora’s box on the importance of securing the economic value of this ecosystem and has raised the issue’s profile among many government officials.
It is interesting to see how this issue has developed, as there are several proposals to offset the huge financial outflow from the Hajj and Umrah ecosystem that previously seemed overly idealistic and now seem feasible. A reciprocal tourism approach to attract wealthy Saudi Arabian tourists to Indonesia is one potential solution.
Before discussing mutual tourism strategies further, let’s first look at the economic value of Indonesia’s Hajj and Umrah ecosystem, which according to the BSI Institute is projected to be around IDR 65 trillion (USD 4.06 billion) in 2023, rising to IDR 194 trillion by 2030.
This increase will be driven by increasing demand and major changes in the Hajj and Umrah ecosystems in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 targets 300,000 Hajj and 3 million Umrah pilgrims from Indonesia in 2030. In 2024, Indonesia will send around 241,000 Hajj pilgrims (potentially more given additional quotas) and 1.7-1.8 million Umrah pilgrims.
When it comes to Umrah, Saudi Arabia continues to make it easier for tourists (including those who want to participate in Umrah) by offering Online Visa Application (e-Visa), Visa on Arrival (VoA) and Transit Visa. In fact, the easiest route for Indonesians at present is only a Transit Visa, while VoA and e-Visa are only available to Indonesian passport holders who have a valid visa and have visited the UK, Schengen countries or the US.
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Additionally, the Saudi Nusk application makes it easier to obtain Umrah permits and Rawdah prayer permits, addressing the growing need for self-service pilgrims. Nusk marks a major shift towards a more streamlined and accessible pilgrimage experience.
