Communicative Ecology of Hajj Pilgrims and Its Impact on Perceived Satisfaction with the Services Provided by the Saudi Government

Abstract

This study has examined the problems’ related to communicative
ecology of pilgrim sojourners in Saudi Arabia and its impact on the levels
of their satisfaction with the services provided in a probability sample of
439 Pakistani pilgrims. The sojourners’ communication ecology in problem
situations comprises eleven communication sources. Of these, contacts
with family/friends and co-pilgrims made top of the list followed by such
community organization sources like information counters, tour operators, and
the Pakistani Hajj mission officials. The mediated sources of contacts with the
ethnic newspaper (the Urdu language newspaper), and the mainstream Saudi
mass media ranked the 3rd and the 4th. The Internet and the digital billboards
were each cited in less than 10 percent of the responses. Stepwise multiple
regressions revealed that the most important sources of impact on satisfaction
were: contact with community organizations, family/friends and co-pilgrims,
the ethnic newspaper, and the digital screens. Implications of the impact on
satisfaction are discussed for communicating with the pilgrims.