Contact Us

Saudi Arabia to host pre-pandemic numbers for 2023 Haj pilgrimage season

Riyadh will impose no restrictions, including age limits, for this Haj season, according to the Saudi Haj Minister, allowing for a pre-pandemic numbers for this year.

  • 3
  • 10
Saudi Arabia to host pre-pandemic numbers for 2023 Haj pilgrimage season

The ministry of haj said in a Tweet that the kingdom, home to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, will impose no restrictions, including age limits, for this season.

  • 4
  • 10
Saudi Arabia to host pre-pandemic numbers for 2023 Haj pilgrimage season

Access was restricted in 2022 to pilgrims aged 18 to 65 who have been fully vaccinated or immunised against the coronavirus and did not suffer from chronic diseases.

  • 5
  • 10
Saudi Arabia to host pre-pandemic numbers for 2023 Haj pilgrimage season

Haj season is expected to begin on June 26 in 2023.

  • 6
  • 10
Saudi Arabia to host pre-pandemic numbers for 2023 Haj pilgrimage season

Over the years, the kingdom has spent billions of dollars on making one of the world's biggest religious gatherings more secure.

  • 7
  • 10
Saudi Arabia to host pre-pandemic numbers for 2023 Haj pilgrimage season

Haj, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it, is a major source of income for the government from worshippers' lodging, transport, fees and gifts.

  • 8
  • 10
Saudi Arabia to host pre-pandemic numbers for 2023 Haj pilgrimage season

An economic reform plan of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aims to increase umrah and haj capacity to 30 million pilgrims annually and to generate 50 billion riyals ($13.32 billion) of revenues by 2030.

  • 9
  • 10
Saudi Arabia to host pre-pandemic numbers for 2023 Haj pilgrimage season

About 19 million also took part annually in the umrah, another form of pilgrimage to Mecca which - unlike the haj - can be carried out at any time of the year, before the pandemic.

  • 10
  • 10
Saudi Arabia to host pre-pandemic numbers for 2023 Haj pilgrimage season