The swine flu pandemic has inflicted huge losses, estimated at SR260 million, on more than 240 domestic Tawafa establishments. This is the figure released by Saad Jameel Al-Qurshi, Chairman of the Haj and Umrah Committee at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Makkah. He said there were a lot less local customers this year. This year the drop in customers ranged from 55 to 60 percent compared to last year, according to initial statistics. This is borne out by statistics released by the Ministry of Haj which showed that only 160,000 domestic pilgrims performed Haj this year.
