RIYADH, 26 April — Authorities began issuing one-month visas to foreigners performing Umrah, the mini-pilgrimage, to allow them to stay on in the Kingdom as tourists.
The new system, applicable for 10 months of the year, is aimed at encouraging tourism and will allow pilgrims to visit any part of the vast country. Until now, Umrah pilgrims were restricted to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
Minister of Haj Iyad Madani told Al-Hayat newspaper that two million people were expected to visit the Kingdom annually to perform Umrah under the new system. Madani said that number was likely to grow rapidly in the coming years, while local economists predicted that the pilgrims could spend more than SR20 billion annually. But, unlike the old system, pilgrims must use authorized tourist firms, 137 of which have already been qualified.
After exhaustive discussions at various levels, the Kingdom set up a tourism agency last year as part of a drive to diversify revenue sources. The Higher Tourism Authority is headed by Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation. Riyadh has since then started granting visas to tourists to visit the country.
Under the rules the licensed tour operators will provide pilgrims with all the services required from the time of their arrival in the Kingdom until their departure as per an agreement between the two sides.
The new regulations empower the Passport Department to issue entry visas to transit passengers at the Jeddah and Madinah airports and Jeddah Islamic Port to perform Umrah or visit the Prophet’s Mosque, provided they have a confirmed booking for their onward journey and an agreement with a licensed firm.
A licensee should make sure that a pilgrim has made the booking for a return journey and leave the Kingdom before his visa expires. If a pilgrim loses his return ticket, the company must pay for his ticket if the pilgrim does not have enough money.
The law sets certain conditions for the travel of pilgrims inside the Kingdom. It says pilgrims should get a travel permit from the Interior Ministry, mentioning the places they want to travel and for how long. Licensed tour operators will arrange transport for such journeys.
A committee, made up of representatives of the ministries of the Interior, Haj and Commerce, will look into complaints from pilgrims.
