The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, which launched the Umrah weekly indicator at the beginning of Hijri year 1440, released the weekly stats till Thursday (Jun. 13). That is after accessing information such as the number of visas issued, number of pilgrims visiting the Kingdom via air, land or sea, and how many would be in Makkah and Madinah. The number of Umrah visas issued until 10 Shawwal 1440 H (Jun. 13, 2019) reached 7,650,736 visas with the number of pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom being 7,393,657 pilgrims. Meanwhile, the number of pilgrims still in the Kingdom is 504,809 pilgrims, with 278,368 pilgrims in Makkah and 226,441 in Madinah, and 6,888,848 pilgrims leaving Saudi Arabia after completing Umrah, according to the weekly data. The weekly data also included the number of Saudi staff within Umrah companies and institutions. They are 10,945 Saudis including 9,065 males and 1,880 females. Most pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom via air with a total of 6,550,520 pilgrims while 707,955 entered by land entry point and 135,182 pilgrims arrived via seaports. According to the Ministry, the highest number of pilgrims of various nationalities, entering the Kingdom are 1,657,777 Pakistanis, 967,125 Indonesians, 650,480 Indians, 539,045 Egyptians, 365,628 Algerians, 338,618 Yemenis, 321,494 Turkish, 278,674 Malaysians, 277,571 Iraqis, and 216,165 Sudanis. The weekly indicator was launched to enable authorities to track the number of pilgrims coming into the Kingdom, and in turn, enrich their experiences by providing high-quality services. The indicator focuses on 5 main aspects which are the number of issued visas, the total number of pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom via air, land, and sea ports, number of pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah, and the number of pilgrims leaving the Kingdom after completing Umrah rituals. This initiative is one of the main aims of Saudi Vision 2030, which aspires to attract over 30 million Umrah pilgrims and provide them with excellent services and an outstanding experience.
