Saudi Arabia’s move to increase Haj quotas this year has been welcomed, after the number of pilgrims hit a 10-year low in 2016, said a report.

King Salman on Thursday approved a proposal to increase the number of pilgrims from inside and outside the Kingdom during this year’s season, which starts in late summer, reported Arab News.

Saudi authorities had imposed a 20 per cent cut in the quota for foreign pilgrims, and a 50 per cent cut for domestic pilgrims, to ensure safety during the expansion of the Grand Mosque.

The number of pilgrims will be gradually increased and restored to what it was five years ago, stated the report citing tourism ministry officials.

Meetings with heads of the Haj ministries across the world have been scheduled to discuss 2017 preparations, and the number of pilgrims for this year from outside the Kingdom will be announced later, it said.

Last year, 1.32 million foreigners and 537,537 domestic pilgrims performed Haj, making a total of 1.86 million pilgrims. This was the lowest number of pilgrims recorded in the last 10 years.

More than 2.4 million Muslims performed the Haj pilgrimage in 2007, the report added.