Mecca: Fifth in the World for Welcoming International Visitors

Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca has secured fifth place worldwide in the International Visitor Reception Index. According to the report, Mecca welcomed more than 19.3 million international visitors during 2024, further cementing its status as one of the world’s most important religious and international tourist destinations.
Islam’s holiest city has crossed another major milestone in global tourism and religious travel by ranking fifth worldwide in the International Visitor Reception Index. The ranking once again demonstrates that Mecca is not only a unique spiritual center for the world but has also become one of the busiest cities globally in terms of international visitor arrivals. According to the report, more than 19.3 million international visitors arrived in Mecca during 2024. These included millions of Muslims coming to perform Umrah and Hajj, while year-round religious tourism further boosted the city’s global significance.
This achievement is the result of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 policies promoting religious tourism, infrastructure expansion, and the provision of modern facilities for visitors. In recent years, the expansion of the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram), a modern transport network, high-speed rail, increased hotel capacity, digital services, smart Hajj and Umrah systems, and improved visa facilities have made travel for visitors from around the world easier than before. The report notes that Mecca’s unique status is also reflected in the fact that Muslims worldwide aspire to perform Hajj at least once in their lifetime, while Umrah can be performed throughout the year. As a result, international visitors continue arriving in the city in every season, significantly benefiting the local economy, hospitality, transport, retail, and services sectors.
The Saudi government aims to further increase the number of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims by 2030 and build capacity to accommodate more than 30 million pilgrims and Umrah performers annually. To this end, numerous development projects are underway in and around Mecca, including improvements in housing, transport, healthcare, crowd management, and digital services.
Tourism experts say this global ranking reflects not just the number of visitors but also signals that religious tourism is becoming an increasingly vital sector of the global travel industry. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has also focused heavily on promoting recreational, cultural, and historical tourism alongside religious tourism, with positive results now visible in global tourism indices.
World’s Busiest Cities for International Visitors
According to the report, Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, remained the world’s busiest city for international visitors, welcoming more than 32.4 million foreign tourists during 2024. It was followed by Istanbul, Turkey with approximately 23 million visitors in second place, London, UK with 21.7 million international tourists in third place, and Hong Kong with 20.5 million visitors in fourth place, while Mecca ranked fifth with more than 19.3 million international visitors.