MADINAH — Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah announced that the number of pilgrims who performed Umrah during the first quarter of this year reached more than 6.5 million, and this figure marks an 11 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Addressing the inaugural session of the second Umrah and Ziyarah Forum in Madinah on Monday, Al-Rabiah revealed that the number of renovated historical sites in Makkah and Madinah has increased to 55, enriching the experience of pilgrims and visitors. Emir of Madinah Prince Salman bin Sultan inaugurated the forum, organized by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in partnership with the Doyof Al-Rahman Program, at the King Salman International Conference Center. Al-Rabiah noted that the number of Haramain High Speed Train users has increased from 3.3 million passengers in 2022 to 8.8 million passengers in 2024, reflecting the continuous improvements in the level of transportation services provided to pilgrims and visitors. The minister pointed out that the daily capacity of the Rawdah Al-Sharif has been increased to more than 52,000 visitors. Al-Rabiah said that Makkah ranked 5th globally in terms of the number of visitors. He explained that this edition of the conference is witnessing huge participation of 330 Saudi Umrah companies, in addition to 8,000 Umrah agents from various countries around the world. Regarding the digital transformation of the Umrah journey, Al-Rabiah highlighted the remarkable improvement made in the Nusuk app, providing more than 100 services to more than 18 million users.
