Hajj Boom: Umrah Soars 58%, e-Visas, Mega Projects & More!

Jeddah: Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Deputy Governor of the Makkah Region, Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, inaugurated the Hajj and Umrah Services Conference and Exhibition 2024(HUSCE) on Monday 8th January till 11th January 2024 at Jeddah Super Dome.The event is being organized by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in partnership with the Pilgrim Experience Program under the Saudi Vision 2030.

The national anthem was played upon the arrival of Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz. Dr Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, welcomed the guests and said the conference provided a platform to individuals and businesses from the Hajj and Umrah sector in Saudi Arabia and over 80 countries worldwide has signed an agreement for the Hajj year 1445.Dr Al-Rabiah announced Saudi Arabia hosted almost 13,550,000 million Muslims from around the world who performed Umrah during the year 2023, which makes it the highest number of Umrah pilgrims with an increase of 5 million, which increases the rate exceeding to 58% from the previous year. He said that inviting all the Hajj service provider companies to this platform and providing them with the opportunity to contact service providers directly raises the level of competitiveness, quality and services from 6 to 20 competitive companies in the Hajj season of 1444 H.

This year, a more significant number of Hajj service companies were licensed, bringing the total number to more than (35) Hajj services companies. The Minister of Hajj and Umrah further said: For the first time in the history of Hajj, countries were handed over documents for the organization arrangements for Hajj 1445 H immediately after the end of the last Hajj season so they can renew their agreements accordingly and have priority in choosing their locations in the holy sites.

He also mentioned that the countries do not have missions for Hajj; the Ministry launched the Nusk platform to serve pilgrims directly; last year, 1444H Nusk served 67 countries and will exceed the number to almost 126 countries this year, 1445H. The pilgrim can efficiently and transparently choose their packages and services and obtain a Hajj visa from Nusk without intermediaries.He explained that the ongoing development journey for the Holy Sites infrastructure has exceeded 5 billion riyals through development projects. More than 14,000 toilets and shower areas have also been added, and to compete with weather challenges, 150,000 new air conditioning units have been installed in the Holy Sites.

The Deputy Emir of the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Region also witnessed the signing of two cooperation agreements between Umm Al-Qura Development and Reconstruction Company and the General Authority for Endowments to establish a hotel suites project worth of two Billion five hundred million Saudi riyals. The other cooperation agreement was signed between the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the General Authority for Endowments and the Guests Awareness Program to establish a Center for Pilgrimage Awareness.

The audience watched a film entitled "Like the day his Mother give birth to him," and a screening of "The Sand: The Path to Nusk." The Deputy Emir of the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Region received a commemorative award from His Excellency the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Al-Rabiah.The Libitum Award was honored to those who provide distinguished services to domestic and international pilgrims, companies and institutions of government agencies.

The second part of the opening session was launched in the presence of the Excellences, the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the Director of Public Security, and the Secretary of the Holy Capital.

The Minister of Hajj and Umrah also said that they aspire and are making plans to increase the number of pilgrims annually. "But we put the health and safety of the pilgrims in mind first, and Hajj is for those who can afford it," he adds.

Engineer Walid Al-Khereiji, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, revealed the launch of the KSA e-Visa application in December 2023, which contributes to facilitating the pilgrims in obtaining their visas without visiting the Saudi embassies and Consulates. Issuing an e-visa will help elaborate security and health challenges by taking the necessary precautions.

To deal with forged visa issues in coordination with security authorities, he said we consider these challenges and work to solve them.

Engineer Abdulaziz Al-Duailj, the head of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, pointed out that air transport is one of the primary transportation services for Hajj and Umrah services. It serves up to 97% of the pilgrims coming from abroad, and they started arriving at the beginning of the month of Dhul-Qi'dah and served them until their departure.

Lieutenant General Muhammad Al-Bassami, Director of Public Security, said the pilgrim's services with the Ministry of Hajj all serving authorities and services turn from pioneering services to security.

He further said that working on Humanitarian grounds is part of the Saudi culture; they always serve pilgrims on humanitarian grounds in all services; humanity is in our blood and represents the Kingdom best.

The security sector prepares an annual plan to work with the military in hand to save us from any crises and provide the best security and safety to the pilgrims and guests of the Kingdom. The Hajj security system is managed collectively to achieve the security or service-providing plans.

Professor Musaed Al-Daoud, The Secretary of the Holy City, stated that the non-profit sector contributes to improving Hajj and Umrah services within the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, and they are keen on environmental sanitation in Makkah and the holy sites to ensure the health and safety of pilgrims and Umrah performers.He indicated that they sanitized almost 250,000 tents and toilets during the Hajj season to ensure environmental safety and pilgrims' health. They are looking forward to providing 3.5 million meals during the upcoming Hajj seasons by expanding the catering sector and working to construct and maintain roads around the holy sites to facilitate the process of pilgrims' transportation.

It's worth mentioning that the Hajj and Umrah Services Conference and Exhibition 2024 will continue for the coming four days by organizing workshops and educational sessions to discuss topics such as future visions for developing cities and holy sites, protecting the rights of the pilgrims, integration with the Hajj and Umrah system, and other sessions and workshops.