Abstract
Saudi Arabia has taken on a popular influence globally, and all Muslims have become inseparable from accommodation and a warm welcome. Due to this, it has built a special position in the hearts of the visitors and all believers worldwide. The honor of serving the Two Holy Mosques, the explorers, and all sightseers to the favored sacred destinations has been conceded. vision 2030 will provide solutions to the many challenges that Saudi Arabia faced in Hajj and Umrah . Huge opportunities and responsibility have been created from the big number of visitorsthat have been coming into Saudi Arabia in the past few years. To offer the best hospitality, the country needs to utilize all available efforts to give the pilgrims everything they require to ensure fulfillment of their obligation and feel they are home for the short period they are there. It means utilizing the vision 2030 to ensure that ethical challenges are solved by then, for a wonderful experience.
Introduction
Hajj and Umrah have wide popularity owing to their importance of enriching the Islam message. Umrah, the pilgrimage to Mecca, takes place all year long, attracting Muslims from all over the world. On the other hand, Hajj takes place once per year, but the numbers are significantly the same. Due to the high number of visitors, the country experiences congestion as the need of various social amenities increase. In the case of reference, COVID-19 saw the number of visitors reduce significantly due to the fears that the event might further fuel the virus's spread. There are also the issues that come with the issue of security and the binding to contracts in periods of the events. This has been covered in the vision of 2030 to ensure the successful handling of the events while avoiding any ethical challenge.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
Purpose
These factors mentioned significantly affect the efficient progression of Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia. This project's main objective is to identify the major challenges faced when handling Umrah and Hajj and the steps that vision 2030 has taken to handle these challenges. As these events promote tourism, there has been a great emphasis on reforming the strategies to reduce over-reliance on oil as a revenue source. This includes promoting cultures and also improving major tourist attractions to make it more enjoyable in Saudi Arabia during the holy events.
Literature review
Numerous studies have been done regarding this topic. Yezli et al. (2017) found out that over ten million pilgrims from over 180 countries worldwide attend the Umrah and Hajj sacred events in Saudi Arabia. According to a projection by vision 2030, the numbers put the total number of visitors by 2030 to approximately thirty million. This event offers scientists a unique opportunity to conduct scientific research about health issues. They suggest that such initiatives be encouraged to identify plans to deliver quality care during these events and mitigate any foreign health conditions before they spread into the kingdom. The knowledge gathered from this research could also be exported to help manage health in mass gatherings all around the world.
This ultimately may help address the healthy security issue altogether. Farooq et al., (2017) developed a method to identify pilgrims' motion concerning the high congestion levels of Makkah, the holy mosque. Huge security apparatus is required to maintain order and prevent any catastrophes. Therefore, they proposed a computer support system to lower human effort, especially during the peak periods of these events. The system utilizes the idea of moving shadows to nullify false motions by separating pilgrims from moving shadows. Optical flow techniques and blocking matching are then used to compute the motion vectors. Through experiments, the system had a high accuracy of 90.58% in the classification of pilgrims' congestion.
Methodology
This research used both qualitative and quantitative data. secondary data was used to identify the increase in populations of pilgrims over the years. The data is provided through the government official website of the SA website, which monitors visitors' populations over the years. All GASTAT staff received training and used tablet devices to fill out the enumeration questionnaires. This data was then uploaded to the database at headquarters. Data from visitors outside the country were collected in collaboration with the general directorate of passports by tracking those entering the country and recording their data. Data collected includes gender, date, and numbers of pilgrims.
Data Analysis
Auditing rules were applied to ensure accuracy, logic, and consistency. The electronic rules were able to identify conflicting answers. Relationships were built by connecting logical relationships between the questionnaire's responses and the variables used and helped identify any ambiguity in the data. The data collected was checked by analyzing the data in each of the centers of Hajj statistics through the office audit units. This unit also tracks and regulates all field researchers' productivity levels in accordance with the data gathering throughout the whole period.
Results and Practical Implications
From the data above, it is clear that the number of pilgrims has been increasing over the years. The number of foreigners attending the Hajj and Umrah events is much higher compared to the number of domestic Muslims. These high numbers come with challenges of accommodation, security, and other social services (Gov. SA, n.d). These visitors bring with them tourism benefits that increase the revenue of the country. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that they receive the best of the services to ensure they have the right motivation to revisit the country. The Ministry of Umrah and Hajj has put up significant improvements to ensure that these ethical challenges are eliminated in a bid to achieve vision 2030 resolutions.
Consistency with KSA laws and Directives through Awareness-raising effort
To guarantee the solace and security of pilgrims, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah executes a wide scope of guidelines and orders by guaranteeing full congruity with the KSA's legitimate necessities and orders. The Ministry does so in collaboration with skilled specialists, for example, the Directorate-General of Passports, whose point is to control the quantity of pilgrim’s entrance and restrictions and also upholding necessary punishments on them (Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, n.d.). In conjunction with vision 2030, the comprehensive awareness-raising initiative is intended to serve pilgrims until they leave home for Saudi Arabia via various print and audio-visual media outlets until they get back home again. Saudi custom officers promote the availability of channels through which pilgrims enter the country and ensure the process is efficient enough.
Hajj Regulations
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has been developing and adopting various smart systems to enable Hajj rituals' facilitation by the guests. This is according to vision 2030, which ensures that with the high numbers of attendees do not come with any complications. The electronic E- track system for foreign visitors is an integrated framework to ensure that contracts in areas of transportation, accommodation, and catering are binding until the pilgrims leave the country. This e-track framework, and the contracts it includes, enables accountability and monitoring capabilities to oversee the execution and the degree to which each entity, under the oversight of the MHU, complies with its obligations.
Regarding domestic pilgrims, the E-track electronic system provides e-portals that show the various service programs provided by domestic pilgrim's agencies and companies. The Ministry guarantees the option of acceptable hajj packages for those requesting to conduct Hajj and allows them to make electronic service contracts with agencies and companies on different services (Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, n.d.).
Infrastructural Developments
As of late, related to the vision 2030, through the Ministry's endeavors, KSA has begun the third extension of the Two Holy Mosques, just as the modernization and working on the air terminals. To supplement the railroad and train that will serve guests to the Holy Mosques and blessed destinations, the Makkah Metro venture was dispatched. The vehicle network framework has been reinforced to advance access and assist explorers with leading their encounters with more prominent solace and productivity.
Social implications
This project has significant social implications for society. It mainly shows the benefits of the Hajj and Umrah events to the locals as it generates good revenue and many people depend on it. It also explores the challenges faced due to the events and what the Ministry and the kingdom are doing to help eliminate these issues in conjunction with vision 2030. These developments will allow the country to hosts many pilgrims with no challenges and with the highest efficiency. In return, tourism is boosted, promoting the economy of the country.
Limitations
One limitation is that due to increased numbers of pilgrims, it can be difficult to track them. The integration of data collected by officials can be missed since there are many channels of entry.
Conclusion
The Vision Realization Program for Hajj and Umrah will permit the most ideal number of Muslims to perform Hajj and Umrah without limit and ensure the understanding of Islam's message to the fullest. It will likewise help improve the world's travel industry and social locales, offer the best types of assistance previously, during, and after they visit Medina and Mecca. It will also advance and extend their experience by setting up the two heavenly mosques to further spread the message of Islam.
References
- Farooq, S., Khan, S. A., & Akram, M. U. (2017). Congestion analysis of pilgrims in Hajj and Umrah congregation using block matching and optical flow. Journal of Physics, 787. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/787/1/012003
- Gov.SA. (n.d.). Hajj and Umrah. Gov.SA Unified National platform. https://www.my.gov.sa/wps/portal/snp/aboutksa/hajjandUmrah/!ut/p/z0/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8zivQIsTAwdDQz9LSw8XQ0CnT0s3JxDfA0MjAz1g1Pz9AuyHRUB9wXG8w!!/
- Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. (n.d.). Awareness raising campaign to ensure compliance with the KSA's applicable laws and directives. https://www.haj.gov.sa/en/InternalPages/Details/100
- Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. (n.d.). Hajjregulations. https://www.haj.gov.sa/en/InternalPages/Details/64
- Yezli, S., Yassin, Y. M., Awam, A. H., Attar, A. A., Al-Jahdali, E. A., & Alotaibi, B. M. (2017). Umrah. An opportunity for mass gatherings health research. Saudi Med, 38(8), 868– 871. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2017.8.20124
Stuck on your essay?
