SOUTH AFRICA — South Africa and Saudi Arabia are moving to strengthen their bilateral tourism and Hajj and Umrah travel ties, following a strategic meeting in Pretoria focused on enhancing connectivity and support for religious travelers.
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille hosted the Saudi Arabia Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, on Wednesday during his official visit to South Africa. The discussions centered on building a more robust framework to serve the thousands of South African pilgrims and Umrah visitors who travel to the Kingdom annually for religious purposes.
Minister de Lille emphasized the foundational relationship between the two nations, noting that South Africa and Saudi Arabia already share an important connection through the South African Muslim community’s travel for Hajj and Umrah. She highlighted the current opportunity to build on this relationship by encouraging greater two-way travel, strengthening aviation and logistical connectivity, and introducing more Saudi travelers to the diverse experiences South Africa has to offer.
To support this initiative, South African Tourism will develop and market specialized seasonal packages tailored to Saudi travelers.
The ministers also agreed on closer cooperation across several key areas within their respective tourism sectors. These collaborative efforts will focus on:
– Joint destination promotion.
– Mutual skills development within the tourism and hospitality industries.
– Showcasing South Africa’s rich Islamic heritage and expanding its Halaal tourism offerings.
This strategic push to expand bilateral relations is supported by significant upward trends in travel statistics on both sides. Over the past year, approximately 56,000 South Africans traveled to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, representing a 10 percent year-on-year increase. Concurrently, inbound travel from Saudi Arabia to South Africa has surged dramatically, rising from 5,461 visitors in 2021 to 24,942 visitors in 2025.
Addressing the statistical growth, Minister Al-Rabiah stated that this expansion means a great deal to both nations. He affirmed that their priority is to listen to South African pilgrims, Umrah visitors, and service providers to understand their needs and work collaboratively to make their journeys more accessible, seamless, and enriching.
“Travel brings people closer together,” Minister Al-Rabiah said. “Hajj and Umrah have connected South Africa and Saudi Arabia for generations, and we look forward to building on this historic connection to further strengthen the relationship between our two countries.”
The agreed-upon measures aim to formalize this historic bond into a modern, mutually beneficial tourism partnership, ensuring sustained growth and improved services for travelers in both directions.
