Paper Title
Impact of Covid-19 on Islamic Tourism in Saudi Arabia: A Case Study of Haj and Umrah

Abstract
The study attempts to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on Haj and Umrah tourism in Saudi Arabia and how this has affected those who work for this sector (either owners or staff). This paper investigates the effects of covid-19 on Haj and Umrah tourism. The results of this study show that COVID-19 pandemic has affected Haj and Umrah tourism seriously. This has thus hit the economy. As a result, many people have lost their jobs, government increased the tax rates and stopped employment projects. This situation has caused many formidable problems in the society where the effect takes place in everything aspect of life. The objective of this study is to investigate the extent to which COVID19 has affected Haj and Umrah tourism sector and then find out the required procedures and precautions to be taken by Saudi Arabia government to mitigate the economic crisis having hit religious tourism during Covid19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews are used as a data collection method. All data samples are qualitatively analysed. The results show that all participants reported that they have faced tremendous challenges to keep their businesses on, as they are on the edge of bankruptcy. As a result, the vast majority of the employees working for these Haj and Umrah-related business are dismissed and are thus being jobless. This has caused many issues at social levels where physical abuse and divorce rates have significantly increased. The study shows the importance of the role of both society as a whole and government in mitigating the issue by supporting private businesses and helping the most vulnerable people. Keywords - Haj and Umrah, COVID-19, Tourism