Saudi Arabia issues more than 6.2 million Umrah visas

There are 452,180 pilgrims still in the Kingdom, with 318,423 in Makkah and 133,757 in Madinah. (SPA)

• Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mohammed Salih Bentin urged 700 companies offering services to pilgrims to take their performance levels to new heights

RIYADH: The number of Umrah visas issued this year has reached 6,238,255, of which 5,703,775 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom, according to data provided by the Hajj Ministry.
There are 452,180 pilgrims still in the Kingdom, with 318,423 in Makkah and 133,757 in Madinah, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Most pilgrims — 5,090,542 — came to the Kingdom by air, while 541,798 entered by land and 71,435 arrived by sea.
The largest number of pilgrims are from Pakistan (1,314,235) followed by Indonesia (849,864), India (559,122), Egypt (342,562), Turkey (269,739) and Yemen (260,754).
The weekly data also included the number of Saudi staff within Umrah companies and institutions. They are 10,587 Saudis including 8,769 males and 1,818 females.
Recently, the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mohammed Salih Bentin urged 700 companies offering services to pilgrims to take their performance levels to new heights. Companies, he added, could take the lead in organizing Hajj and Umrah in the future, and help develop the sector’s infrastructure and plan construction projects.