Saudi Arabia will allow more than a million people to participate in the Hajj tour this year after two years of strict restrictions, state media announced on Saturday (April 9).

This year, travelers to Makkah must be under the age of 65 and have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, the Haj and Umrah headquarters said in a SPA News statement. .

Foreign participants this year were allowed, but they had to show recent COVID-19 PCR dysfunction and monitor their health.

Last year, the kingdom held the annual Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, in front of 60,000 attendees.

According to official records, Islam visits the holiest mosques in Mecca and Medina for a week-long Hajj and a small Umrah trip previously brought the kingdom about $12 billion a year. The Hajj has religious ceremonies that took place over five days in Islam's holiest cities, Mecca and surrounding areas in western Saudi Arabia.

Holding the Hajj is a matter of prestige for Saudi leaders, as the administration of Islamist shrines is their strong point of political legitimacy.

Before the outbreak, Islamic tourism was the kingdom's main source of income, generating around $12 billion a year.

The restrictions for 2020 and 2021 have sparked outrage among Muslims abroad.

According to data from the Ministry of Health, the kingdom has around 34 million inhabitants who have so far registered more than 751,000 cases of coronavirus, including 9,055 deaths. In March, he announced the removal of most COVID-19 restrictions, including the isolation of public places and the exclusion of vaccinated immigrants that should facilitate the arrival of Muslim tourists.

The resolution includes the conclusion "stay away from all open and closed spaces", including mosques, and masks are now only required in closed areas.