Saudi Arabia’s Hajj and Umrah Deputy Minister, Abdul Fattah Mashat, announced a notable surge in the number of Umrah pilgrims arriving from outside the kingdom this year.
The surge, which comes amid an expansion of the capacity of Saudi Arabia’s two holiest mosques, is linked to several factors, an easier and more convenient visa procedure is one of them.
This season, a high influx of pilgrims has been witnessed from several countries, with the majority coming from Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Iraq, Yemen, and Bangladesh.
The number of Umrah pilgrims is expected to increase amid the Saudi government’s efforts to facilitate travel from across the globe, including the ease of communicating with service providers and obtaining visas via the Nasik platform.
Mashat said that the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has set up 24/7 facilities to accept grievances and reports from pilgrims in all languages regarding service providers.
Saudi Arabia has taken steps to reduce the time of verification procedures upon arrival for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, which have been implemented for the UK, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Tunisia, and Kuwait.
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