Farsi, Minister of Haj, has said that 1.1 million Umrah visas have so far been issued this year, with over 400,000 of their recipients having already arrived in the Kingdom. The rate of overstayers from that figure, the minister said, stands at 0.025 percent. Speaking at a function to honor outstanding tawafa organizations on Thursday, Al-Farsi appealed to hoteliers in Makkah to comply with the requirements of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities to obtain licenses. “This is a positive law brought in by the SCTA and the public and officials must abide by it to produce the best results,” Al-Farsi said. When asked about the Iranian's banning their pilgrims from coming for Umrah, Al-Farisi said that the Kingdom “provides facilities for all Muslims to come for Haj and Umrah”. “You'd better ask the Iranians why they are not coming this year,” he said.
