4 million visas issued for Umrah this year

The Ministry of Haj has issued 4 million Umrah visas this year, with just over 3 million pilgrims from 70 countries having already visited the Kingdom.
The ministry’s spokesperson Ali Mohammed Al-Ghamdi said yesterday that 3,145,506 pilgrims have so far performed Umrah. Six million pilgrims are expected this year, he added.
He said pilgrims’ spending accounts for 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of Saudi Arabia. In 2012, Haj and Umrah pilgrims spent SR 62 billion, a 10 percent increase from 2011.
Each pilgrim spends between SR 7,000 and SR 15,000, with the lion’s share on accommodation, food, drinks, gifts and phone calls.
Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran send the most Umrah pilgrims to the Kingdom.
The current Umrah season began on Dec. 14 last year and will last until the end of Ramadan in the first week of August.
With the increasing numbers of Umrah pilgrims, the Haj Ministry is planning a fully integrated electronic visa system incorporating Saudi missions abroad. The main aim of electronic integration is to make sure pilgrims are provided services promised by tour operators.
There has been a drastic reduction in Umrah pilgrims overstaying their visas. The Kingdom last year issued 5.5 million visas with only 25,000 people not returning to their home countries.
Pakistan had the most overstayers at 9,752 pilgrims, followed by Egypt, Syria and Algeria.