#pilgrimage

The 18-million pilgrim year: religious tourism as the kingdom’s oldest industry

Saudi Arabia hosted 18.03 million Umrah pilgrims in 2025 — more than three times the 2022 figure. The capacity infrastructure is two decades of planning, but the simplification is a Vision 2030 deliverable: one app, one visa, one process where there used to be four.

18.03M· 18 million Umrah pilgrims welcomed from abroad