Makkah: Saudi Arabia is strengthening its position as a global leader in managing large-scale crowds through an integrated digital system designed to serve pilgrims during Hajj, with smart technology playing a central role in regulating movement across Makkah and the holy sites.
The effort forms part of a broader push to improve services and maintain high standards of safety and operational efficiency throughout the pilgrimage season.
The initiative also reflects the Kingdom’s wider push under Saudi Vision 2030 to expand the use of advanced technology and digital systems in modernizing Hajj and Umrah services, and improving the pilgrim experience at every stage of the journey.
At the system’s core is an operating network connecting the agencies responsible for Hajj through unified digital platforms that analyze data as it comes in and track crowd movement at the busiest points. That capability lets operators make split-second decisions to ease the flow between the Grand Mosque, the holy sites and the various gateways.
The integration has sharpened advance planning and allowed each group to be assigned a suitable time window, cutting congestion and smoothing the performance of the rituals.
Speaking to Arab News, Saad Al-Qurashi, adviser to the National Committee for Hajj and Umrah, called the system’s digital transformation “an unprecedented leap forward in serving pilgrims.”
The Nusuk app, he said, has become one of the most important tools at their disposal, streamlining booking, transport and the issuing of permits, as well as providing instant access to services.
“Nusuk has cut out much of the old paperwork and given pilgrims a clearer, easier experience, from the moment they start planning their trip to the moment they complete the rites,” he told Arab News, adding that linking Nusuk to other smart systems makes group scheduling more precise and field operations more efficient.
Al-Qurashi said that artificial intelligence and computer vision had also improved the reading of crowd density and the handling of sensitive points such as the Jamarat facility and the Mashaer train stations.
These tools, he said, give organizers the ability to anticipate shifting conditions on the ground rather than merely react to them, keeping pilgrims moving freely and noticeably shortening wait times.
Mohammed Arif, a Malaysian pilgrim performing the rites for the first time, said he was deeply impressed by the level of technology he encountered in the Kingdom, and that the Nusuk app and the digital services around it had made his journey far simpler and better organized.
The speed of receiving information, the scheduling of his movements and the steady electronic guidance through the apps, the pilgrim said, left him feeling reassured and confident — “a world-class standard,” in his view, for running one of the “largest human gatherings on earth.”
The system also equips group leaders with interactive maps and purpose-built field apps that allow them to follow their groups in real time and receive instant alerts whenever routes need adjusting or crowds require redistribution.
Control centers, for their part, watch over movement on live analytics screens fed by the smart cameras and sensors spread across the holy sites.
Taken together, the initiatives reflect an advanced model that matches the scale of Saudi investment in the digital infrastructure supporting Hajj.
Officials say the Kingdom is steadily moving toward a smarter, safer and more sustainable pilgrimage experience — one that prioritizes pilgrims’ comfort and safety while offering the world a leading example of crowd management and integrated on-the-ground organization.
