The Saudis Want Pilgrims to Spend More Time Shopping
- Government aims for fourfold rise in pilgrims to 30 million
- Religious tourism shift part of move away from oil economy
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Mecca: Come to fulfill your religious duty. Stay for the shopping.
Saudi Arabia, and its developers and retailers, are set to cash in on a spending bonanza fueled by the unique position of having a city that every able-bodied Muslim in the world must visit once in their lifetime. Helped by state investment, Mecca is set to see shopping-mall space almost triple by 2025, according to Colliers International.