Saudi Arabia has cancelled the maximum age limit of 50 years for all foreign pilgrims, as per local sources.
Earlier, the age limit for overseas pilgrims performing Umrah was between 18-50.
After the new regulations, anyone over 18 years of age will be allowed to perform Umrah.
Umrah revenue is a big source of Saudi Arabia’s income as it contributes about $4 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP.
On average, 18.5 to 20 million people visit Saudi Arabia every year to perform Umrah.
Revenue from Pilgrimage and tourism is an important part in Saudi’s vision 2030 which involves reduction of oil based income and diversification of economy.
According to local sources, KSA is likely to add 115 new buildings, 70,000 hotel rooms, 9,000 housing units and commercial space of 3.6 lakh sq meters to increase capacity of pilgrims which will create over 1.5 lakh jobs in the country.