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As of 2024, around ** pilgrims from Indonesia benefitted from the Makkah Route Initiative before arriving by air in Saudi Arabia. The Makkah Route Initiative is an efficiency measure, where Hajj pilgrims complete their entry procedure to Saudi Arabia at their home countries' airport. After arriving in Saudi Arabia, they are directly transported to their accommodation in Makkah or Medina after landing.

International and domestic travel during the Hajj

The average annual number of Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia in the last two and a half decades hovered around *** million. The number of foreign Hajj pilgrims outweighed domestic pilgrims in 2024. The Saudi government uses a population-based quota for better allocation of visas to foreign pilgrims entering the country for Umrah and Hajj. The quota breakdown of foreign Hajj and Umrah pilgrims in 2023 indicates that the pilgrims came mostly from Indonesia, Pakistan, and India.

Hajj economicsÌý

The Hajj is not only a spiritual undertaking for Saudi Arabia, but also an economic one. While huge investments in infrastructure, capacity, and management are required to maintain the smooth flow of the pilgrims, there are also economic benefits to be reaped. Estimations on key facts and figures about the pilgrimage show that Saudi Arabia generates about ** billion U.S. dollars per year from Hajj activities. Meanwhile, the total cost of Hajj for non-domestic pilgrims ranges from to * U.S. dollars per person.