By Abdulaziz Ghazzawi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — As many as 2,031,751 Umrah visas have been issued since the season started about four months ago and a total of 1,566,754 pilgrims have arrived, according to a statistical report issued by the Ministry of Haj and Umrah.

The ministry said a total of 1,221,304 pilgrims have left the Kingdom after completing their Umrah rituals and visiting Madinah to pay homage to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and pray at his mosque.

According to the ministry, 1,501,673 pilgrims arrived by air, 65,063 by land and 18 by sea.

The ministry said as many as 411,140 pilgrims have come from Pakistan which tops all the countries in the number of Umrah pilgrims, 368,193 from Indonesia, 221,956 from India, 97,709 from Malaysia, 65,083 from Turkey, 53,962 from Egypt, 47,962 from Bangladesh, 45,950 from Algeria, 29,544 from the United Arab Emirates and 23,926 from Jordan.

The ministry mid last week introduced a new service aimed at covering the Umrah pilgrims coming from outside with insurance against emergency medical cases, delay or canceling of flights, incidents, disasters and others.

The initiative was within the programs of the Kingdom's 2030 Vision aimed at providing excellent services to the Guests of Allah.