Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — As many as 5,730,842 visas were issued to prospective pilgrims since the current Umrah season started late October 2018, according to the weekly cumulative Umrah indicator issued by the Ministry of Haj and Umrah.

The indicator said a total of 5,273,075 pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom until Thursday and 4,801,032 of the left the country after performing the rituals of the minor pilgrimage in Makkah and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.

It said 472,043 Umrah pilgrims were currently in the Kingdom, consisting of 330,560 in Makkah and 141,483 in Madinah.

According to the data, 4,706,764 of the pilgrims arrived by air via King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madinah.

The ministry said 504,116 pilgrims arrived overland and 62,195 by sea. The indicator said the largest number of 1,222,459 pilgrims came from Pakistan, followed by Indonesia, which sent 808,698 pilgrims.

There were 513,031 pilgrims from India, 316,034 from Egypt, 250,713 from Turkey, 246,992 from Yemen, 243,793 from Malaysia, 226,538 from Algeria 185,051 from Iraq and 148,041 from Jordan.

The pilgrims were being served by a number of companies, which together have a combined workforce of 10,481 Saudi employees consisting 8,674 men and 1,807 women.

The ministry launched the weekly indicator to enable various authorities to track the number of pilgrims coming into the Kingdom, and in turn, enrich their experiences by providing high-quality services.