Indians formed the second-highest number of pilgrims performing hajj this year. In the run-up to Eid, analysis of flight booking data to the holy city of Mecca shows that more than 44,000 Indians have booked to go on hajj this year.
There is an overall increase in flight bookings to airports around the holy city of Mecca from around the world, with the highest growth coming from countries in Asia. These findings are based on analysis of bookings made through all global distribution systems (GDS) channels to King Abdulaziz International Airport, Ta’if Regional Airport and Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport till last week of July and arriving from July 9 till Thursday.
The analysis was done by Travelport, a technology company that serves the travel industry. Travelport ran comparable data for last year’s hajj, so trends could be identified.
According to Travelport’s analysis of the growth in hajjis from Asia, Bangladesh registered the highest growth, followed by Indonesia, Pakistan and Malaysia. Bookings from Bangladesh were up by 171 per cent (13,906). The growth in these countries is believed to have been expedited by the Mecca Route initiative, a new service offering immigration pre-clearance for pilgrims at their points of embarkation.
Globally, Egypt recorded the biggest number of flight bookings through a GDS out of any country this year with nearly half-a-lakh bookings, followed by India. After Bangladesh, the UAE had the highest rise in Asia, followed by Qatar, where pilgrims can now register for hajj using dedicated ‘electronic gates’.
“For some, economic conditions and increased allocations from the government in Saudi Arabia (makes) this year the ideal time for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Damian Hickey, Global Vice President and Global Head of Air Travel Partners at Travelport.
Every year, more than 10 lakh people from all over the world fly into western Saudi Arabia to perform hajj, making it one of the largest annual spikes in global air traffic. To manage numbers from overseas, Saudi Arabia sets quotas for countries based on their Muslim population. Local governments and licensed private travel companies then begin allocating places for citizens.
Travelport's figures are based on GDS data derived from Marketing Information Data Transfer (MIDT) figures, the reservation network used by travel agents, travel management companies, websites and others to search and book airline seats. However, it will exclude tickets booked directly with some airlines, as well as private chartered flights.
