As many as 5,047,088 Umrah pilgrims have so far arrived in the Kingdom since the start of the season early November, local daily Al-Madina reported on Wednesday quoting official data. According to the data, the number of Umrah pilgrims is five percent more than their number in the same period last year. As many as 1,207,891 Umrah visas were issued to Egyptian pilgrims, of whom 1,077,761 have arrived. A total of 864,409 visas were issued in Pakistan. So far 782,988 Pakistani pilgrims have arrived. Some 611,238 Turkish pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom marking a six percent increase over their number the same time last year. A total of 661,079 Umrah visas were issued in Turkey. The revenues to be generated by the Umrah season are expected to rise to more than SR200 billion by the year 2020, according to an official. The expansion of the Haj and Umrah services within the Saudi 2030 Vision will provide job opportunities for more than 30,000 young Saudi men and women. At present there are about 50 Umrah companies but the Ministry of Haj and Umrah will license about 100 new companies after this year's Haj season to cater to the increasing service demands.
