The sessions of the 19th Scientific Meeting for Hajj, Umrah and Visit Research were concluded with 33 recommendations for developing the Hajj and Umrah system. The events of the 19th Scientific Meeting ended on Thursday in Madinah, and the recommendations arrived at by the participants were the fruit of 6 scientific sessions and a session discussing scientific posters, during which 50 scientific papers were presented in addition to 40 working papers.

The meeting was held under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz (may Allah safeguard him), and was organized by the UQU Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research in collaboration and partnership with Taibah University.

The first recommendation emphasized the need to express deepest thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz (may Allah safeguard him); the Crown Prince His Royal Highness Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense; His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research; His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, the Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region; His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Madinah Region; and their Excellencies the Minister of Education and the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, members of the Supervisory Committee of the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research at Umm Al-Qura University for their noble support of the meeting and their trust in the institute, the generous support of the Saudi government for scientific research, in addition to all the commendable services provided to the guests of the Merciful and efforts exerted to facilitate the provision of such services for the rituals to be performed while ensuring the maximum comfort, convenience and security for the pilgrims.

The following sheds light on some of the recommendations concluded by the participants.

• Concerning smart cities, the meeting recommended exerting efforts toward the provision of the requirements of smart cities in Makkah, Madinah and the holy places, including the infrastructure, facilities, services, etc. In addition, the meeting recommended the use of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, etc., employing them in the service of the guests of the Merciful and expanding the application of smart camps and houses.
• With regard to enriching the pilgrims' experience, the meeting recommended developing indicators to measure the quality of the spiritual and psychological experience and the degree of serenity, safety and security enjoyed by the guests of the Merciful during the performance of the rituals. The meeting recommended organizing trips for the guests of the Merciful to acquaint them with the history of the Two Holy Mosques, their architecture, and the heritage of the Saudi Kingdom. The meeting also recommended establishing museums, producing documentaries, using interactive models and modern techniques, designing diverse souvenirs and gifts, conducting economic studies on the preferences and expenditures of different nationalities among the guests of the Merciful to provide their purchasing, food, housing and tourism needs, and revitalize the local economy.
• As far as awareness is concerned, the meeting stressed the importance of directing the media to actively promote the purposes, objectives and exemplary culture of Hajj. Moreover, the meeting emphasized the need to employ social media to raise awareness about the sanctity of Makkah and Madinah and the need to duly honor them, and recommended introducing sanctions for those who violated their sanctity. It also emphasized the need to inform the companies and institutions providing services to the guests of the Merciful on the rules and regulations, stressing the importance of clarifying such rules and regulations to the pilgrims and visitors of the Holy Sites.
• In relation to the quality of facilities and services provided to the guests of the Merciful, the participants recommended developing a common and integrated electronic platform to link the systems of all the parties concerned with the provision of services to the guests of the Merciful, raising the quality of services provided in the spatial timetables, increasing the number of toilets allocated for people with special needs, numbering bus stops to solve the problem of pilgrims getting lost, and providing special paths for people with special needs to facilitate access to the two Holy Mosques and various facilities, starting from the moment they leave the vehicles. They also recommended the use of the Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) methodology to meet the requirements of the overall quality of the services provided by various institutions.
• In the area of health and safety, participants called for training all employees working in the service of the guests of the Merciful on the provision of appropriate first-aid treatment, the basics of firefighting, evacuation procedures, and public safety. They recommended the implementation of the electronic health system, and the provision of wireless medical sensors to read patient's data accurately and with high speed. They also recommended early examination of pilgrims before their arrival to diagnose infectious diseases that may affect the performance of the rituals or pose harm to the rest of the guests of the Merciful. The participants also advised making the necessary recommendations in such cases, with regard to refraining from granting Hajj permits for such sick pilgrims or providing appropriate services for them. Moreover, they recommended the classification of the sick pilgrims' health status to provide appropriate health services to them with high efficiency via specialized institutions. The participants also recommended the development of treatment services in primary health care centers to speed up the diagnosis process and management of colds and other simple cases, preventing the unjustified referral of cases to hospitals, and the development of emergency services, ambulances and health awareness efforts in the two Holy Mosques in coordination with the relevant bodies to form an integrated administration of such services.
• In the field of nutrition, the participants recommended developing standards for the quality of food provided on Iftar (fast-breaking meals) tables in the Holy Mosques and their yards, and intensifying the awareness-raising efforts of the official authorities and charitable institutions providing charitable food services about the standards of meal provision as well as the need of the organizers of the Hajj campaigns to provide meals suitable for sick pilgrims with special needs. They recommended providing such meals in special outlets at suitable prices. In addition, they recommended the use of internationally approved substances that speed up the defrosting process of different kinds of frozen meat in order to avoid food poisoning that occurs when using unhealthy methods in the thawing process.
• As far as urbanization and crowd management are concerned, the participants called for the development of a strategy to preserve the urban heritage and identity of Makkah and Madinah, applying the route and pre-booking systems to organize visits to crowded places such as the Holy Rawdah, and installing sunshades in the Tawaf area around the Ka`bah to reduce overcrowding at certain times of the day.
• Concerning sustainability, they recommended assigning greater care to the endowments dedicated for the service of the guests of the Merciful, developing them and raising awareness about their importance. They stressed the need to diversify the areas of endowments according to the needs and requirements of the guests of the Merciful, and use food left-overs and waste recycling as plant fertilizers, animal feed, and fuel and bioenergy production, employing modern techniques and cutting-edge technologies in the process. Furthermore, they recommended the development of the Green Hajj Camp Project, following up its implementation, raising awareness about its importance, and expanding its field of application. The participants also underlined the need to adopt scientific and audit methods for auditing energy systems (known as energy auditing), organizing training programs for the development of the skills of the workers in this field, and to produce special fabric for Ihram clothes made of light and environmentally-friendly fabric which provides high levels of absorption, is quick-drying, and has high decomposition rates.
• In the field of volunteering and the non-governmental sector, the participants stressed the need to adopt, update and complete the charter of volunteer work by the entities providing service to the guests of the Merciful, and encourage the establishment of profit and non-profit institutions specialized in the provision of services to the guests of the Merciful. Moreover, they recommended providing stimuli for these entities for them to shoulder the tasks of the public sector, stressing the need to ensure that the services are provided with high quality and efficiency.
• In the area of environmental safety, they recommended putting an end to the rock cutting activities at the foot of Mount Thawr, removing the unstable rock masses, stabilizing the non-consolidated parts due to the accumulation of large fragments of rock, and addressing the rockfall and landslide hazards in the mountainous areas of Makkah and the holy places. They also recommended an increase in the planting of trees in Makkah and Madinah, installing sunshades, and increasing the use of water mist sprayers to mitigate high temperatures, especially in crowded areas, taking into account the relatively humid levels.