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Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index positioned Makkah high among leading urban tourism hubs with nearly 19 million international arrivals recorded in 2025 while the Doyof Al-Rahman Service Program placed Madinah seventh worldwide on its tourism performance metrics. The program’s “Honor and Impact” annual report issued this week documented more than 19.5 million foreign pilgrims to Saudi Arabia including 18.03 million Umrah visitors and 1.5 million Hajj participants. That Umrah total reflected a 114 percent rise from 2022 levels as the kingdom advanced goals under its Vision 2030 framework for expanded pilgrim services and infrastructure.
The Doyof Al-Rahman report highlighted satisfaction rates that surpassed Vision 2030 targets with Hajj pilgrims reporting 91 percent approval and Umrah visitors 94 percent. More than 16 million people visited the Rawdah Al-Sharif at the Prophet’s Mosque where satisfaction climbed to 88 percent from 57 percent in 2022. These gains stemmed from coordinated upgrades in crowd management digital facilitation and site accessibility that the program oversaw across multiple government and private partners.
According to the report the program executed 87 initiatives in 2025 through partnerships with more than 60 entities achieving complete compliance on every project. The number of qualified historical and cultural sites in Makkah and Madinah grew to 87 drawing more than 55 million visits during the year. Program officials tied the expansion to enriched pilgrim experiences that deepen connections to Islamic heritage while supporting broader economic diversification aims.
More than 184000 volunteers contributed to pilgrim support in 2025 demonstrating expanded citizen engagement in hospitality services the report stated. A total of 15.03 million visas were issued for Umrah visits and related travel with Umrah permits comprising 83 percent of the total. Pakistan Indonesia and Egypt led the list of nationalities receiving Umrah visas as consular and digital processing improvements streamlined applications from key source markets.
Euromonitor International data shows Makkah’s 2025 international arrivals aligned it closely with other leading destinations such as Dubai which recorded 19.5 million visitors in the same index. The Saudi cities’ strong performance occurred as global urban tourism rebounded with top destinations collectively managing record demand through technology investments and capacity enhancements. Madinah’s gains in hotel occupancy airport traffic and airline links contributed to its elevated ranking in performance measures that factor multiple operational indicators.
The Doyof Al-Rahman program operates as one of several Vision 2030 initiatives focused on elevating the pilgrim journey from initial planning to departure. Its 2025 results build on prior years of infrastructure development that have progressively raised service standards and visitor throughput. Additional context from Euromonitor indicates religious tourism continues to drive substantial arrivals to key Saudi sites amid overall growth in the global city destinations sector.
