Barriers and motivations affecting information systems usage by Hajj-Umrah religious tourism operators in Saudi Arabia

Hajj & Umrah religious tourism accounts for seven million visitors each year in Saudi Arabia. The government has recently taken initiatives to promote the use of Information Systems (IS) in the religious tourism industry, encouraging firms to adopt IS innovations like e-commerce and enforcing the use of the Makha'a information system in Umrah for external pilgrims and the Yosr information system in Hajj for internal pilgrims. This study outlines the motivations and challenges that affect the utilisation of various IS services in the Saudi religious tourism industry through a qualitative analysis of the views and perceptions of senior executives and owners of travel firms. The findings suggest that while government initiatives and industry competitiveness were two positive factors promoting IS use, there are some major barriers preventing private firms from fully utilising the advantages of information systems. These include external factors such as lack of support from the IT industry and access to IT resources as well as internal factors within an organisation such as lack of commitment or the need for professional IT expertise. The study finds that relative advantage is a critical contributor to IS utilisation which depends on information systems characteristic

Comparative Pricing Analysis of Mecca’s Religious Tourism

This study compares the costing practices of three religious tourists groups. Specifically, the study compares the costs of Islamic religious tourism to Mecca among three groups: 1) Indonesia and India, 2) Lebanon and Tunisia, 3) Dubai and Qatar. The selection of the three groups was based on the following principle: Group 1: Represents the most populated and less affluent Islamic countries. Group 2: Represents the less affluent Arab States with moderate income Group 3: Represents the richest Arab Islamic countries in the world. Results indicate that countries with wealthy economies charge much higher prices for Hajj packages than those with moderate economies. However, the overall Hajj revenue is the highest ($940 millions) in the most populated Islamic countries (Indonesia). But for wealthy economies (Dubai) even though it’s ranked as the fifth in the number of pilgrims, its revenues ($220,433,572) are high enough to be in the third place. Operators’ pricing schemes fall into three independent categories: Competition-based Pricing, Consumer-based Pricing and Cost-based Pricing

The emergence of a new religious travel segment: Umrah do it yourself travellers (DIY)

This research examines the rise of a new religious travel segment – the Umrah Do It Yourself (DIY) travellers. While Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam, Umrah is a minor Muslim pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time of the year, while still playing a crucial role in the completion of Hajj rituals. In the past, Umrah was managed by an authorised travel agent, who makes all the necessary pilgrimage preparations, from flights to trip itineraries. Recent years have seen an upsurge in travellers who prefer not to utilise the services of such agencies, but instead, to make their own arrangements. The decision by the Saudi Arabian government to launch a Tourist e-Visa in September 2019 has opened a window of opportunity for the legalization of Umrah DIY journeys. The objectives of this study are (i) to explore the travel motives that contribute to the success of the Umrah DIY, and (ii) to explore the factors that support and facilitate the decision for the Umrah DIY. The data were obtained via 20 semi-structured interviews with Umrah DIY travellers. The findings show that flexibility, spirituality, and budget have a crucial impact on travel motivation. Additionally, the findings suggest that information sources, travel quality, companionship/new friendship, and familiarity facilitate the choice of Umrah DIY travel. This research contributes to the growing scholarship on the Muslim travel market beyond Hajj and to studies on independent religious travel. Findings provide an opportunity for suppliers and industry participants to understand the travel motives of this new segment as a basis for producing relevant religious tourism products and services

SMART Media Technologies impact on the Spiritual Experience of Hajj Pilgrims

Over the last two decades, information and communication technologies have advanced rapidly and continue to do so. Currently, the popularity and spread of SMART Media Technologies (SMT) is not only transforming the lives of tourists around the world in general, but is impacting on the experience of pilgrims on the Hajj in Saudi Arabia in particular,(Brdesee et al, 2013). Indeed, the Saudi government has undertaken a number of initiatives to encourage the use of SMT in the religious tourism industry, (Majid, 2016). Specifically, the availability of SMT services such as Hajj Apps, E-bracelets for pilgrims, free WIFI and mobile charging services in Grand Mosques (in both Mecca and Madinah), dedicated social media websites, and the ability of pilgrims to take advantage of SMART phone activities are facilitating and enhancing their technological and social experience of the Hajj (Naar, 2015; also BBC, 2016). However, arguably the introduction of ‘high-tech’ into the Hajj is arguably impacting on the nature of the pilgrims’ experience, challenging its fundamental spirituality by transforming it into something more akin to a ‘cyber experience’, an experience which competes with and jeopardies the principles of the Islamic religious journey of the Hajj with its focus on worship, simplicity and no ostentatious behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore how the spiritual experience of pilgrims may be influenced by the availability and use of various SMT services. The findings suggest ways in which these technological services both enhance and impact negatively on the pilgrim’s spiritual experience

Exploring factors impacting e-commerce adoption in tourism industry in Saudi Arabia

With the internet revolutionising global tourism, technological changes continue to make inroads into the industry’s marketing and sales management models. Although many tourists still use shopfront providers, they are increasingly becoming a minority as the ‘mobile generation’ goes online for information and uses social media to discuss their holiday plans and book travel services. In Saudi Arabia, the religious tourism industry serving Hajj and Umrah pilgrims as well as other tourism clusters have been slow in coming to terms with e-commerce trends, preferring to offer a traditional personalised service to their clients. However, the logistical needs of servicing the rapidly increasing numbers of international pilgrims and growing IT literacy in the local market means that tourism management in Saudi Arabia needs to make considerable investments in time, resources and training to harness information technology and adopt business models that are at par with their global competitors. To respond to this issue, this study explores the perceptions and experiences of executives in the Hajj/Umrah as well as other tourism industry sectors to understand the factors that may have fostered or impeded e-commerce adoption. This research contributes to the existing research on e-commerce adoption in Saudi Arabia by providing an explanation of the factors that influence the adoption of e-commerce by the tourism industry and explaining how generic theories of technology adoption need to be contextualised for the specific conditions prevailing in the Arab tourism market. The practical contribution on this research relates to the solutions it offers for the challenges faced by the travel and tourism industry in e-commerce adoption in Saudi Arabia. The research was conducted using interviews with Saudi tourism executives to understand the contextual factors that influence the norms and attitudes prevailing in the tourism business that affect their adoption of e-commerce. This was followed by a questionnaire which was sent to a larger sample in Saudi cities, mainly focussing on Jeddah. The questionnaire focused on uncovering the factors influencing the adoption, or lack thereof, of e-commerce in the Saudi tourism industry. The research was grounded on a theoretical framework derived from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, Perceived Organisational and External E-Readiness scales, and Organisational Cultural Dimensions. The findings confirmed that the perceived relative advantage of e-commerce utilisation was an essential contributor to promote e-commerce in Saudi Arabia. Although government policy and industry norms were shown to influence e-commerce adoption, executives’ attitudes were found to strongly affect technology adoption and were shown to be indirectly modified by their ICT literacy and customer influence. Internal human and ICT resources also had a direct impact on the decision to adopt e-commerce. On the other hand, customers’ attitude relating to issues regarding online privacy and security and a lack of human interaction in a market with a preference for personalised agent service for customers form significant barriers to their adoption of e-commerce. There is also a lack of industry leadership and a supportive Saudi-based IT industry that can facilitate this move toward modernisation in industry standards. While there is a broad understanding of the importance of e-commerce, the tourism providers view an e-commerce strategy as not yet necessary, or indeed not yet relevant, for the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia at this time

The Impact of SMART Media Technologies (SMT) on the Spiritual Experience of Hajj Pilgrims

Over the last three decades, information and communication technologies have advanced rapidly and continue to do so. Nowadays, the popularity and spread of socalled Smart Media Technologies (SMT) is not only transforming the lives of tourists around the world in general, but is impacting on the experience of pilgrims on the Hajj in Saudi Arabia in particular. Indeed, the Saudi government has undertaken a number of initiatives to encourage the use of SMT in the religious tourism industry. Specifically, the availability of SMT services such as Hajj Apps, E-bracelets for pilgrims, free WIFI and mobile charging services in Grand Mosques (in both Makkah and Madinah), dedicated social media websites, and the ability of pilgrims to take advantage of smartphone activities are facilitating and enhancing their technological and social experience of the Hajj. However, the introduction of ‘high-tech’ into the Hajj is arguably impacting on the nature of the pilgrims’ experience, challenging its fundamental spirituality by transforming it into something more akin to a ‘cyber experience’, an experience which competes with and jeopardises the principles of the Islamic religious journey of the Hajj with its focus on worship, simplicity and nonostentatious behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore how the spiritual experience of pilgrims may be influenced by the availability and use of various SMT services. The findings suggest ways in which these technological services both enhance and impact negatively on the pilgrim’s spiritual experience

The Impact of Smart Media Technologies on the Spiritual Experiences of Hajj Pilgrims

Over the last three decades, information and communication technologies have advanced rapidly and continue to do so. Nowadays, the popularity and spread of so-called Smart Media Technologies (SMT) is not only transforming the lives of tourists around the world in general, but is impacting on the experience of pilgrims on the Hajj in Saudi Arabia in particular. Indeed, the Saudi government has undertaken a number of initiatives to encourage the use of SMT in the religious tourism industry. Specifically, the availability of SMT services such as Hajj Apps, E-bracelets for pilgrims, free WIFI and mobile charging services in Grand Mosques (in both Makkah and Madinah), dedicated social media websites, and the ability of pilgrims to take advantage of smartphone activities are facilitating and enhancing their technological and social experience of the Hajj. However, the introduction of ‘high-tech’ into the Hajj is arguably impacting on the nature of the pilgrims’ experience, challenging its fundamental spirituality by transforming it into something more akin to a ‘cyber experience’, an experience which competes with and jeopardises the principles of the Islamic religious journey of the Hajj with its focus on worship, simplicity and non-ostentatious behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore how the spiritual experience of pilgrims may be influenced by the availability and use of various SMT services. The findings suggest ways in which these technological services both enhance and impact negatively on the pilgrim’s spiritual experience

Regulatory Reform for Protecting the Interests of Umrah Package Travellers in Malaysia

Umrah package travel has been recognized as one of the important contributors to the Malaysian tourism industry. Muslims in Malaysia travel by package to Mecca and Medina for their specific purpose: to perform a religious obligation (Umrah) for fulfilling the unity of soul, spirit and heart. Malaysian Umrah package travellers come from different social, economic, educational, geographical and age backgrounds. All those differences raise many issues and the very important issue within it is potential information vulnerability where it has an impact on the decision-making process. Due to that problem, they may suffer financial, emotional and spiritual loss when an inappropriate purchasing decision is made. Therefore, this research is aimed to provide the most appropriate mechanism for protecting Malaysian Umrah package travellers from any potential information vulnerability that might defeat their interests. This research investigates specific information vulnerabilities of Malaysian Umrah package travellers and specific need of information as to protect Umrah package travellers. It identifies the appropriateness of information regulation as an initial protective measure for Malaysian Umrah package travellers. It examines the policies and laws governing the protection of package travellers in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) to identify progressive ideas for Malaysia’s adoption. It scrutinizes the current Malaysian legal framework in relation to the protection of Umrah package travellers as consumers. It presents a specific model purposely to protect Malaysian Umrah package travellers. It is hoped that specific model of regulatory approach which requires the tour operators and travel agents to provide essential information in relation to Umrah package travel at the pre-contractual stage will be the most appropriate protection measure for Malaysian Umrah package travellers

Spiritual or Touristic Experience? A critical exploration of the consequences of the commodification of the Hajj on the Pilgrim Experience

Within the field of religious tourism research, increasing attention has been paid to commodification and its consequences. However, there remains a paucity of literature that considers the impacts of the commodification of religious tourism on the experience of religious tourists or pilgrims in general, whilst few if any attempts had been made to consider this issue from an Islamic perspective. Specifically, little is known about the consequences of the commodification of the destination (Mecca) and of the religious ritual of the Hajj on pilgrims’ spiritual experiences. Therefore, based upon research into the Hajj, Mecca and pilgrims’ experiences, this thesis sought to address the following question: to what extent is commodification transforming the spiritual experiences of pilgrim on the Hajj, as well as their perceptions of the authenticity and appeal of the pilgrimage journey. Putting it another way, the main aim of this exploratory research was to critically appraise the extent to which the spiritual experience of the Islamic pilgrim is being transformed into a touristic experience as a result of the contemporary commodification of Mecca and the Hajj. The research in this thesis adopted a phenomenological interpretivist approach, and comprised two stages. Stage one of the research involved one focus group undertaken in the UK with pilgrims who had undertaken the Hajj at least once in the preceding three years, the purpose to being to establish the extent and perceived consequences of the commodification of the Hajj as a basis for guiding and informing the principal research at stage two. The focus group outcomes revealed that, for the majority of participants, the Hajj has become commodified. Not only has the experience become more ‘touristic’, but the participants revealed that pilgrims also seek out greater comfort and luxury, thus indicating that the pilgrimage has become more of a ‘branded’, commodified experience. As such, the focus group findings confirm the arguments in the literature with regards to the commodification of religious tourism yet, for some participants in the research, this commodification had not, for them, diminished either the authenticity or the enjoyment of the experience. Subsequently, the second stage of data collection took place during the Hajj; specifically, the researcher participated in the Hajj as a pilgrim in August-September 2016. At this stage, the principal data collection method was semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted with pilgrims from both developed and developing countries in order to explore in depth not only how pilgrims experience a commodified Hajj but also to identify the extent to which these experiences vary amongst pilgrims from contrasting cultural backgrounds. Interviews were also conducted with representatives of the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia / Mecca, specifically hoteliers, in order to elicit further data with regards to religious tourism policy and practice, as well as contributing to an understanding of the commodification process from a supply perspective. Interview data were also supplemented by participant observation of the roles and actions of pilgrims during the Hajj. The research revealed that the identified commodification of Mecca and the Hajj is impacting negatively not only on the spiritual experience of pilgrims but also on the perceived authenticity of the destination. More specifically, a consensus emerged from the data that, irrespective of national or cultural background, the pilgrim’s behaviour is becoming more materialistic and consumption-oriented. In particular, influenced by the increasing supply of contemporary, highly-branded hospitality services, modern tourism infrastructure and SMART technology in Mecca, the pilgrim’s spiritual experience is being transformed into one mainly more touristic, an experience which competes with and potentially challenges the moralities of the Islamic religious journey of the Hajj and its lessons based on simplicity, equality and no ostentation. Overall, this thesis concludes that, at least for the participants in both stages of the research, the Hajj has become commodified. As a consequence, their spiritual experience is becoming diluted, entering the realm of a more touristic experience. Pilgrims seek out greater comfort and luxury, indicating that the pilgrimage has become more of a ‘branded’, commodified experience

Towards an intelligent Holy City: assessing the current training needs for the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah

The Hajj represents the fifth pillar of Islam, and more than three million pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia every year to fulfil this obligation. Managing the Hajj effectively and ensuring the safety of the pilgrims is a complex process that requires highly specialised skills and expertise. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (MHU) is responsible for Hajj planning. It is constantly striving to improve the services provided to pilgrims, notably by enhancing its crowd management capabilities. According to its Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia intends to increase its capacity to accommodate a larger number of Hajj pilgrims to increase income from non-oil products. As a result, the MHU is seeking to develop its employees' knowledge and skills and raise their capabilities in the field of technology and management of large crowds. Therefore, this research aims to assess the current training needs in the MHU, identify current challenges, skills and knowledge gaps, and develop a training needs analysis (TNA) framework to support the strategic development of up-skilling of employees. A mixed approach of using literature review, questionaries, and interviews is utilised with qualitative and quantitative analysis methods to achieve these aims. The use of more than one method of collecting data was implemented to achieve data triangulation. The qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis, and the quantitative data were analysed using statistical analysis. The findings showed a lack of understanding of TNA, lack of support from top management, poor communication, lack of technical skills, and a lack of professional expertise. The results also recognised some unique barriers to the adoption of TNA, including undesirable attitudes toward TNA; a lack of enforcement (putting into practice) towards training in general; no systematic attempts to address the most significant performance problems, and a lack of strategic planning in the conduct of training. However, all these challenges can be reduced by effectively implementing the suggested TNA framework and the recommendations of this research work. This study's original contribution is developing a comprehensive understanding of adopting training needs analysis (TNA) in the MHU in Saudi Arabia, one of the first practical studies about TNA in the MHU. Therefore, the study's findings will reinforce the current literature about TNA associated barriers in organisations and fill the gap in knowledge relating to the strategic development of training at MHU in particular; and in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in general