The high demand for Indonesian currency at exchange offices in Makkah has continued for more than four months, while exchange rates fell from 452.61 to 347.96 rupiah for SR100.
Traders in the foreign exchange market said the decline in the Indonesian exchange rate is positive for travelers, but negative for money exchange offices and shops who compensated for the losses from the decline in the currency exchange rate with the large quantities brought in by pilgrims.
Abdullah Al-Sayrafi, an expert, said: “The demand for the Indonesian rupiah has continued for the past four months, adding that the Indonesian rupiah was the most traded currency after the dollar and the euro.” 
He said traders are eager to sell immediately as the rupiah may further decline and create more losses.
Khaled Al-Amoudi, another expert, said the daily income of exchange rate offices from rupiahs varied between SR1 million and SR2 million during the Haj season.
Despite the high demand for Indonesian rupiahs among pilgrims and Saudi tourists, the exchange rate has been on the gradual decline since the start of 2016. Indonesian pilgrims came with their country’s currency due to the high tax on the dollar there. 
He said the demand for the Indonesian rupiah is considered the highest, followed by the Malaysian ringgit, the Egyptian pound, the Moroccan dirham, the Turkish lira, and the Emirati dirham. Meanwhile, the demand for the euro and dollar remains throughout the year. 
In Jeddah, however, the exchange rate differs based on the location, as pilgrims prefer to exchange currency in Al-Khaskiya, Al-Nada, and Qabil Street in order to take advantage of slight profit margins.

Source: Arab News