JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has officially launched the sixth edition of the Hajj Conference and Exhibition in Jeddah, welcoming more than 520 government, private, and nonprofit entities from around the world. Running from November 8 to November 11, the high-profile international event serves as the primary strategic platform for finalizing critical operational contracts, forging global partnerships, and reviewing comprehensive preparations for the upcoming Hajj seasons, with a primary focus on the 2027 pilgrimage cycle.
The massive exhibition gathers international organizations, official delegations, and specialized service providers from more than 150 countries. The opening of the conference follows a series of major administrative reforms introduced by the Kingdom, most notably the implementation of a unified, all-inclusive contracting mechanism designed to fundamentally reshape how overseas Hajj agencies arrange essential pilgrimage services.
The exhibition opened its doors approximately 40 days after the ministry announced that overseas Hajj agencies and pilgrim affairs offices can now arrange accommodation, ground transportation, catering, and holy-site services through a single, streamlined electronic contract for the 2027 season. Under this modernized framework, international bodies can submit a single consolidated digital request covering all essential services from the moment a pilgrim arrives in the Kingdom until their final departure. This comprehensive package replaces the legacy system, which required agencies to negotiate and manage separate, fragmented agreements with dozens of individual service providers.
The unified contracting process relies heavily on the Nusuk Masar platform, a digital ecosystem launched by the ministry in June 2024. The platform directly connects international pilgrims, administrative staff, authorized service companies, and pilgrim affairs offices, allowing providers to design comprehensive service packages and complete all contractual obligations entirely online. According to the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the single contract framework is designed to drastically simplify administrative procedures, maximize financial transparency, and establish crystal-clear contractual relationships between foreign agencies, official pilgrim delegations, and domestic service companies. While the ministry’s initial announcements laid out the structural framework of the 2027 package, specific pricing structures, national quotas, and final deadlines have not yet been published, leaving service companies and international delegations awaiting further details on how bundled offers will be priced.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Splits the Exhibition Into Three Tracks
To manage the vast scale of the exhibition and address every facet of the pilgrimage ecosystem, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah organized the four-day event into three distinct operational tracks, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat.
The first track focuses on infrastructure and operational services, encompassing critical areas such as transportation and logistics, large-scale infrastructure and facilities management, housing and hospitality, and comprehensive catering and nutrition. The integration of high-standard consumables remains a prominent niche within this sector, reflecting the logistical complexity of feeding millions of people in a compressed timeframe.
The second track centers on empowerment and integration, addressing security and safety protocols, specialized healthcare services, official media and communication strategies, and cutting-edge technology and innovation.
The third track is dedicated to sustainable development, highlighting the contributions of the nonprofit sector, entrepreneurial ventures, specialized workforce training programs, and the continuous enhancement of the overall pilgrim experience.
Exhibitor communities represented across these tracks span a wide spectrum of industries, including commercial aviation, ground transportation, hospitality management, healthcare, civil infrastructure, digital technology, human resources, investment, and international business development. Furthermore, the program features more than 15 specialized zones and forums, including the high-level Hajj Conference, the Hajj Council, and an Awareness and Training Forum hosted for the first time. The agenda also incorporates interactive workshops, a dedicated hackathon, an entrepreneurship and innovation zone, a central business hub, and specialized technology, health, media, and aviation pavilions, alongside a high-level closed meeting for heads of international pilgrim affairs offices.
The international event is organized in close collaboration with the Pilgrim Experience Program—one of the foundational pillars of Saudi Vision 2030—and is held under the royal patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The All-Inclusive Hajj Package Puts Four Services in One Contract
The centerpiece of the Kingdom’s current operational reforms is the all-inclusive Hajj package, which groups four fundamental service areas into a single, cohesive contract. As detailed by Arab News, the four core components include dedicated services at the holy sites of Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah, hotel and residential accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, organized ground transportation, and daily catering. Participating international agencies maintain the flexibility to build optional services on top of this standardized core to meet the specific preferences of their travelers.
This administrative overhaul arrives as the Kingdom manages historically large volumes of international visitors. During the most recent Hajj season, the General Authority for Statistics recorded a total of 1,707,301 pilgrims. Of that total, 1,546,655 traveled from outside the Kingdom, while 160,646 participated from within Saudi Arabia. These figures highlight that international arrivals account for approximately nine out of every ten pilgrims, underscoring the critical importance of streamlining overseas coordination and contracting.
While the ministry has established the framework for the all-inclusive package, specific details regarding optional add-ons—such as specialized travel insurance policies or extended luxury services—remain subject to individual agency offerings and upcoming regulatory updates.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Held Readiness Talks With 78 Countries
Ahead of the official opening of the conference and exhibition, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah conducted a rigorous series of bilateral readiness meetings with official Hajj affairs delegations from 78 countries, according to reports by the Saudi Press Agency and Arab News. These preparatory sessions were designed to fine-tune operational plans, review seasonal timelines, and align regulatory requirements well in advance of the upcoming pilgrimage cycle.
The discussions covered every phase of the preparation process, tracking progress against approved schedules, reviewing package procedures, and establishing formal contracting protocols with authorized service providers. Officials also held extensive consultations regarding mandatory awareness programs, local safety regulations, and coordinated arrangements for crowd management, accommodation, and transportation logistics.
Formal preparations for the season commenced as early as May, when the ministry delivered comprehensive preparation documents and detailed operational schedules to international Hajj affairs offices, immediately following a thorough evaluation of performance and logistics from the previous season.
Visitor Numbers Have Risen With Every Reported Edition
The remarkable growth of the Hajj Conference and Exhibition mirrors the broader expansion and modernization of the pilgrimage sector under Saudi Vision 2030. Historical attendance figures published across successive editions demonstrate a steady upward trajectory in both global participation and exhibition scale.
The inaugural edition of the event was held in Jeddah in March 2022 under the central theme of "Transformation Towards Innovation." The second edition, convened in January 2023, expanded significantly, drawing more than 60,000 visitors and over 200 participating companies. The momentum accelerated further during the third edition, which welcomed approximately 100,000 visitors, more than 200 service providers, 27 government entities, and over 80 visiting ministers and heads of international Hajj missions, culminating in the formal announcement of bilateral Hajj agreements with 76 countries.
The fourth edition, themed "A Passage to the Rituals," attracted roughly 150,000 attendees and secured formal agreements with 77 countries. Last year’s fifth edition broke previous participation records, drawing more than 204,000 visitors and featuring 270 specialized exhibitors from over 150 countries. That event included 134 specialized sessions and workshops, alongside professional training programs attended by more than 2,600 participants. While exhibitor counts have ranged between 270 and 300 in recent years, the broader count of over 520 participating entities for the current sixth edition reflects the inclusion of a wider array of government agencies, private enterprises, and nonprofit organizations contributing to the modern Hajj ecosystem.
Pilgrim Experience Program Targets Set the Longer Horizon
Beyond the immediate operational arrangements for the 2027 season, the strategic vision for the pilgrimage sector is guided by long-term benchmarks established by the Pilgrim Experience Program for the year 2030. These ambitious targets include expanding national capacity to comfortably welcome 30 million Umrah pilgrims annually and achieving a sustained pilgrim satisfaction rate of 90 percent by the end of the decade.
As the sixth Hajj Conference and Exhibition concludes its four-day run in Jeddah, attention turns toward the practical implementation of the unified contracting system and the ongoing cooperation between the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and international delegations. By unifying core services into a single digital platform and fostering direct collaboration among global stakeholders, Saudi Arabia continues to refine its infrastructure to ensure a secure, transparent, and seamless journey for millions of the faithful.