Umrah season sees more visitors despite reduced visa numbers

JEDDAH: Although Umrah pilgrim quotas for various countries remain reduced this year, including in Ramadan, the flow of visitors to Makkah remained high. The holy city witnessed an increased number of pilgrims from within the Kingdom during the fasting month. The Ministry of Haj has said that over 6 million Umrah pilgrims visited the Kingdom during the just concluded Umrah season and, according to the traffic police, over 20 million visitors visited the holy city in the month of Ramadan alone. “The Ministry of Haj issued 6,048,373 visas during this year’s Umrah season, with the successful rate of returning pilgrims,” a senior official from the ministry told Arab News. In fact, he added, the successful rate of returning pilgrims has been confirmed with the effective electronic monitoring. “Shortly, we will release the details,” he added. “We have successfully managed the entry and movement of 20 million passengers till the 27th of Ramadan into the holy city of Makkah.” said Ali Al-Zahrani of traffic police in Makkah. He added that more than a million cars were parked during the holy month in designated parking slots in Makkah. Arab News