Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Over 6 million pilgrims perform Umrah during current season

Over 6 million pilgrims perform Umrah during current season

Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb described the performance of the Saudi tourism sector during the first quarter of 2023 as unprecedented and historical in terms of the number of visitors and amount of tourism spending.
“Over six million pilgrims have performed Umrah during the current season while the percentage of incoming tourists for the purpose of entertainment and holidays shot up 581 percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2019, thanks to the simplified electronic visa procedures and remarkable growth in facilities and services in the Kingdom’s tourist destinations,” he said.

The minister made the remarks while attending his monthly meeting with investors in the Saudi tourism sector. Saudi Tourism Authority CEO Fahd Hamidaddin and a large number of stakeholders and investors in the tourism sector from various regions of the Kingdom attended the virtual meeting.

Al-Khateeb stressed that the ministry will never neglect three issues that are at the core of its work, which are high quality, compliance with the necessary licenses to practice the activity, and Saudize jobs in the tourism sector.

The minister emphasized that the results achieved by the Kingdom’s tourism sector during the holy month of Ramadan were amazing and unprecedented. The number of Umrah pilgrims from inside and outside Saudi Arabia has exceeded 6 million, and the occupancy rate in the hospitality sector in Makkah and Madinah recorded historical figures.

“This strong start is promising and encouraging as the ministry is intensifying its efforts and readiness to launch the summer season campaign for this year. All sectors have completed their preparations for a strong and attractive tourism season. More than SR600 million have been allocated to introduce the wonderful tourist destinations all over the Kingdom,” he said.

The meeting reviewed the preliminary results achieved during the first quarter. It was revealed in the meeting that the growth rate of total domestic tourism spending in the first quarter of this year reached 45 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022. “This was supported by the strong start of inbound tourism and the achievement of the highest quarterly number of foreign tourists for all purposes, which is estimated at 7.8 million, with a growth rate of 64 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019. The remarkable progress in the procedures, in addition to tourism promotion in the target countries, as well as the increase in demand for the Umrah visas have contributed to achieving these results,” the minister said.

Al-Khateeb noted that the rate of tourist visitors from the Gulf and the Middle East countries recorded a growth of 107 percent compared to 2019, while the growth rate of tourists from East Asia, especially Indonesia and Malaysia, reached 49 percent, while the rate of those coming from the European countries, especially Turkey, France, Russia, Italy and Germany, reached 50 percent.

Referring to the turnout of visitors from outside the Kingdom, the minister noted that Makkah topped among the destinations with 4.4 million tourists, and Riyadh came second due to the increase in those coming on tourist visas as well as those coming to visit families and friends. Dammam and Al-Khobar achieved a 96 percent increase in the total number of tourists arrived in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2019, and this was attributed mainly to the increase in the number of visitors and tourists from Bahrain and Qatar, for the purposes of entertainment and visiting families and friends.

There has been significant growth, reaching 247 percent, in the inflow of tourist visitors to Jeddah for the purpose of entertainment and visiting families and friends during the first quarter of 2023 while Al-Ahsa topped the growth rate reaching 419 percent during the period with the return of tourism movement from Qatar and the increase in the number of tourist visitors from other Gulf countries.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
×