Saturday, January 26, 2019

Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — In its weekly bulletin published on Thursday, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah has said Saudi Arabia has received nearly 2.8 million Umrah performers since the start of the current season while more than 3.27 million visas have been issued for prospective pilgrims.

The weekly indicator compiled such information as the number of visas issued, the number of pilgrims visiting the Kingdom via air, land or sea, and how many pilgrims were in Makkah and Madinah.

It said the number of Umrah visas issued for the Hijri year 1440 until Jumada Al-Awwal 18 (Jan. 24) was 3,270,164 visas with 2,791,438 pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom.

It said 449,770 pilgrims were currently in the Kingdom with 321,006 of them in Makkah and 128,764 in Madinah. As many as 2,341,668 pilgrims left Saudi Arabia after completing the Umrah rites.

The weekly data also gave a breakdown of the number of people employed by Umrah companies and institutions. They included 10,020 Saudis — 8,293 males and 1,727 females.

Most pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom via air. While a total of 2,478,416 pilgrims arrived through King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah and Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madinah, 294,572 entered the country by border points and 18,450 pilgrims arrived via seaports.

According to the ministry, the highest number of Umrah performers by nationality was from Pakistan with 729,117 pilgrims, followed by 478,513 Indonesians and 325,838 Indians. There were 158,453 Yemenis, 151,453 Malaysians, 109,049 Turkish, 102,479 Egyptians, 98,636 Algerians, 73,270 Jordanians and 69,045 Bangladeshis.

The weekly indicator was launched to enable the authorities to track the number of pilgrims coming into the Kingdom, and in turn, enrich their experiences by providing high-quality services.

The initiative was among the main objecives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aspires to accommodate over 30 million Umrah pilgrims annually and provide them with excellent services.

Source: http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/557730