Saudi Arabia issues more than 3.6 million Umrah visas

Muslim pilgrims sit and circumambulate around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, in this file photo taken on August 28, 2017. (AFP)

• The Vision 2030 reform plan aims to attract more than 30 million Umrah pilgrims, and provide them with excellent services and an outstanding experience

JEDDAH: The number of Umrah visas issued this year has reached 3,683,961, of which 3,244,785 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom, according to data provided by the Hajj Ministry.
There are 456,133 pilgrims still in the Kingdom, with 313,669 in Makkah and 142,464 in Madinah.
Most pilgrims — 2,880,635 — came to the Kingdom by air, while 339,313 entered by land and 24,837 arrived by sea.
The largest number of pilgrims are from Pakistan (819,119) followed by Indonesia (534,137), India (358,231), Yemen (181,737), Malaysia (176,661), Egypt (165,553) and Turkey (131,812).
The weekly data also included the number of Saudi staff within Umrah companies and institutions. They are 10,022 Saudis including 8,291 males and 1,731 females.
Developing Hajj and Umrah organizations and services in the Kingdom is among the top priorities of the Saudi government.
The Vision 2030 reform plan aims to attract more than 30 million Umrah pilgrims, and provide them with excellent services and an outstanding experience.