RELIGIOUS TOURISM
Knowledge Economic City (KEC), Madinah
Umrah performers.”Covering an area of 230,000 square metres, the project will be able to house nearly 45,000 inhabitants and be able to accommodate more than 150,000 worshippers at prayer on a dedicated land area of 15,000 square metres. Other projects such as the Abdul Lathif Jameel and Shamiah development are also being constructed, providing more hotel rooms to religious travellers and expected to bring down room rates in the coming years. Until now, exorbitant rents have prevented many Muslims from spending the night close to the Grand Mosque in the Holy City, forcing them to stay in more affordable cities such as Taif or Jeddah. In Madinah, the development of KEC will act as the main supply source for hospitality rooms. Sprawled over nine million square metres, the $8 billion development will house a population of 120,000 people once finished. It is set to include residential, hotels, and retail outlets, catering to the needs of the ever-growing population and increased visitors to the city. KEC is expected to add around 12,500 to its existing base of roughly 48,000 rooms by 2020, Tash said. According to the latest DTZ Jeddah Hotel Market Q1 2012 report, Jeddah is
a “key leisure and shopping destination in the Kingdom” and attracts a high number of religious tourists “by serving as a hub for Hajj and Umrah visitors as Makkah has no airport of its own.” New hotel developments in the Red Sea destination are in the pipeline including the Grand Hyatt, Kempinski and the Rocco Forte Collection, adding approximately 2,210 additional hotel rooms to the market, the DTZ report says. Te Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company (JDURC) is also redeveloping the city’s Corniche, “acting as a key driver to support Jeddah’s status as a key transit point for Hajj and Umrah visitors and the leading shopping and leisure destination for domestic tourists,” DTZ said.
Massive expansion plans for Makkah’s Holy Mosque and Madinah’s
Prophet’s Mosque are also in progress. Currently the key bottleneck for religious tourism, the mosque’s capacities will be increased to hold a combined total of 2.5 million worshippers (1.5 million in Makkah and 1 million in Madinah) in a SAR 80 billion ($21 billion) project. “Te expansion is also designed to make Hajj and Umrah performances more comfortable and safer in the face of a phenomenal rise in the number of pilgrims over the past few years,” Justice Minister Mohammed Al-Eissa said in a statement. Te development also includes the expansion of courtyards around the mosques, including walkways, tunnels and toilets as well as the development of service facilities for air-conditioning, electricity and drinking water.
Filling the gap In addition to infrastructure and real estate development, cultural and
entertainment offerings form an important part of religious tourism. In October 2011, KEC has opened its first museum which has since
become a destination for thousands of visitors. “It is a mini-version of what we intend to develop in the coming few years, coupled with a traditional souk that is designed and built in inspiration of the old Madinah and Islamic heritage and culture,” Tash said. Plans between KEC and the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities also exist to develop a world- class museum about the Holy Quran. Tash adds that such developments are aimed to offer Madinah’s visitors a more rich experience, as well as reduce traffic and density outside prayer times in the central area. “Most existing retail offerings are too closely located around the holy mosques, while they should be further away to allow better traffic flow and utilisation of space and circulation,” he said l
18 I CITYSCAPE I JUNE 2012
Image: Foster + Partners
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