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More than 4.6m Umrah visas issued in 5 months

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source: flickr

More than 4.6m Umrah visas issued in 5 months

JEDDAH — As many as 4.650 million Umrah visas were issued by the end of the fifth month of the Umrah season which began on Nov. 13 and will continue until late July, Al-Eqtisadiah business daily reported on Tuesday quoting a senior member of the National Haj and Umrah Committee.
“So far 4.1 million Umrah pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom,” deputy chairman of the committee Abdullah Al-Qadi said.
He noted that during the past two months, the number of Umrah pilgrims from certain countries has gone up raising the number of pilgrims by about two percent over their number at the same time last year.
Qadi attributed the increase in the Umrah pilgrims during the past two months to good marketing and good cooperation between the Haj Ministry and Umrah companies.
He expected the number of pilgrims to further increase during the three remaining months of the season and said Egypt is leading the countries in the number of the Umrah pilgrims followed by Pakistan and Indonesia.
Waleed Abu Sabaah, an expert in the Umrah sector, said that there has been a noticeable drop in the number of Umrah pilgrims from some countries especially Turkey.
He referred to reports that the Haj Ministry might limit the number of pilgrims for each Umrah company and said that this would have an adverse effect on the success of the season.
According to reports, the ministry was planning not to have more than 500,000 Umrah pilgrims staying in the Kingdom at one time.
“This measure will hurt the market badly if it is applied,” he warned. Abu Sabaah said the companies are waiting for the coming three months to make some financial gains that will reduce their losses, but if the ministry is adamant on its plan of specifying certain number of pilgrims for each Umrah company.

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Source: saudigazette

Number of Umrah visas to treble in 2016

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Saudi Arabia is planning to triple the number of Umrah visas issued each year to 15 million, according to local media.
From next year, 1.25 million pilgrims could be allowed to visit the Grand Mosque each month, compared to 400,000 presently.
Haj Minister Bandar Al Hajjar was quoted as saying that the increased numbers were to make use of the newly expanded Grand Mosque. which is undergoing a $20 billion refurbishment.
Umrah and Haj visas were cut in 2014 and 2015 during construction, which is still ongoing.
According to the Haj Ministry, five million Umrah visas were issued in 2013 and six million each during 2014 and 2015. It expects to issue up to 60 million by 2018.
About 1.8 million foreign pilgrims recently descended on the Islamic holy city of Makkah for haj, an annual pilgrimage Muslims are expected to perform in their lifetime.
This year’s religious gather was marred by one of the worst stampedes in Saudi history. Saudi authorities said 769 people died, but figures compiled by Associated Press put the number at 1399, while several governments also disputed the official Saudi figure.

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Article by: arabianbusiness.com

Umrah stay cannot exceed 15 days, says Haj Ministry

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The Haj Ministry has informed 145 Umrah service-providing companies that the maximum stay on an Umrah visa in the kingdom is 15 days.

Abdullah Marghalani, the ministry’s undersecretary for Umrah affairs, told Makkah daily on Wednesday that the instructions were conveyed in writing to all companies.

“Earlier we used to inform the companies of these instructions verbally but now we have conveyed them officially in written form,” he said.

Marghalani, who is also director of the ministry’s branch in Jeddah, said earlier Umrah companies used to turn a blind eye to pilgrims who might extend their stay in the Kingdom to 30 days.

He warned companies that do not abide by the new rules could face sanctions including not receiving any Umrah visas in the future.

He said: “The procedure is aimed at facilitating the entry of new batches of Umrah pilgrims and extending new visa quotas to the companies after the passage of 15 days.”

Marghalani noted a large number of Umrah pilgrims were able to arrive in the kingdom following the implementation of the 15-day stay rule.

“A number of Islamic countries have reacted positively to the new system and have expanded their visa granting procedures,” he said.

He said according to the ministry’s calculations, pilgrims on Umrah visas usually stay eight to 10 days. “Sometimes it is much less than this,” he added.

Marghalani said Umrah companies could be issued with more Umrah visas after 15 days instead of a month, as was the case in the past.

Ahmed Bajaiefer, member of the Haj and Umrah committee of the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, hailed the decision.

Article by: english.alarabiya.net