This year's Arbaeen drew more than 22 million pilgrims, yet Iraq's religious tourism revenue fell

Shafaq News reported on Tuesday 4 August 2026 that more than 22 million people converged on Karbala for this year's Arbaeen pilgrimage, some 5 million of them foreign pilgrims from 172 countries. Yet the economies of Iraq's shrine cities report a paradox: record crowds and shrinking returns.

Religious tourism is Iraq's most consistent non oil economic engine, contributing roughly 3.3% of gross domestic product, and the government's 2024 tourism investment plan earmarked nearly $620 million for infrastructure in Karbala and Najaf. By comparison, Saudi Arabia hosts roughly 1.7 million pilgrims for the Hajj in 2026 and generates an estimated $12 billion from religious tourism, while Iraq's tourism sector as a whole earns around $3.7 billion despite drawing far more visitors.

Azhar al-Kalsh, deputy head of the Karbala Hotels Association, told Shafaq News that the regional war thinned the ranks of foreign visitors through visa delays and disrupted air travel, but that the deeper problem is a chronic failure to plan the intake of pilgrims. Economist Karim al-Hulou said much of the service provision runs through the Mawakib processions and is given free of charge, so the direct return to the treasury and formal businesses runs well below the true volume of activity. Saeb Abu Ghanim, head of the Najaf Hotels Association, said about 80% of the city's hospitality, transport and lodging activity during pilgrimage season is tied to Iranian visitors, and that their reduced spending power has pushed hotel and market revenue down.