RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s minister of tourism, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, inspected hospitality facilities for pilgrims in Makkah on Monday as part of the preparations for the annual Hajj season next month.
He reviewed the services that will be provided for pilgrims and met tourism workers, some of whom were taking part in the ministry’s training programs, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Khateeb revealed that more than 566,000 beds have been added to the pilgrim hospitality sector in Makkah through a new temporary accommodation licensing service launched in October last year.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and every able-bodied Muslim is required to undertake the pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah at least once in their life. This year it is expected to take place from May 24 to 29, and thousands of Muslims have already arrived in the Kingdom to prepare for it.
Last year, 1,673,230 pilgrims performed Hajj, according to the General Authority for Statistics, of whom 166,654 were citizens or residents and the rest came from outside the Kingdom.
