JEDDAH, 9 June — About 200,000 Umrah pilgrims are being held up in Egypt and are unable to travel to the Kingdom because of differences between Saudi companies and Egyptian tour operators on applying the terms and conditions of the new Umrah system.
The conflict centers mainly on the condition that each foreign operator must submit a bank guarantee for SR100,000 to its agent company in the Kingdom. The Egyptian agencies have refused to fulfill the requirement and have taken a united stand by stopping all Umrah services until the rule is revoked.
Analysts say that the controversy will drastically reduce the number of Egyptian Umrah pilgrims this year causing heavy losses to both Saudi and Egyptian travel operators. Egypt sends an estimated 600,000 Umrah pilgrims annually.
The Ministry of Haj insists that all Umrah companies must meet the condition which it says is aimed at discouraging pilgrims from overstaying.
Dr. Muhammad Bantan, undersecretary for Umrah affairs at the ministry, said most companies refused to accept the new condition because “either they don’t know its benefits or they don’t want to take the responsibility for their pilgrims.”
He dismissed suggestions that the new system would cause the service charges to go up.
“The Saudi government is not charging pilgrims any service fee directly or indirectly,” he said, and noted that a number of foreign companies had signed deals with their Saudi counterparts for the Umrah service.
Egyptian Consul General in Jeddah Mohsen Bahauddin, however, confirmed that none of the Egyptian travel agencies had signed any contract under the new Umrah system. He claimed that the condition on bank guarantee was one-sided as it protects only the interests of Saudi companies.
Naif Al-Husseini, marketing manager of a licensed Umrah services company in the Kingdom, told Arab News that his company had invited the director of an Egyptian agency to inspect the company’s services before signing a contract. “But the man refused saying they will get only a meager profit.” Al-Husseini admitted that his company was facing difficulty to convince agents abroad.
“It was impossible for individual firms to sign deals because it was a collective decision taken by the Egyptian chamber of travel agencies,” Bahauddin said. He said the Egyptian government would support any settlement that would satisfy the demands of tour operators on both sides.
Bahauddin said he had discussed the issue with Haj Minister Iyad Madani before the launching of the new system. “At that time the minister told me that it will run smoothly once implemented and that problems can be solved within the framework of the existing rules,” said the diplomat.
At a recent meeting at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo, Egyptian travel agents proposed that the Egyptian companies should also receive a guarantee from Saudi agents for an equal amount. They also suggested that Saudi firms deal directly with only three Egyptian companies.
Reiterating the goals of the new Umrah system, Bantan said it was mainly aimed at curbing the phenomenon of overstaying. “It also aims to ensure better services for pilgrims as many pilgrims have been cheated in the past by foreign travel agents, which did not fullfil their promises.”
An insurance company in the Kingdom, Meethak, has played a major role in solving the problem by providing the guarantee on behalf of a number of foreign travel and tourism companies dealing with the Umrah pilgrims.
Egyptian companies believe that the new system will reduce their bargaining power and will make it difficult for them to get good rates from hotels and furnished apartments in the Kingdom. They also fear that it will increase service costs by 20 percent.
Under the new system Saudi companies are answerable to the Haj Ministry for any shortcomings in their services. The ministry will interfere when it receives complaints from pilgrims by offering them all the services at the cost of the Saudi company. The new system, which was enforced 45 days ago, allows the pilgrim to visit all Saudi cities and extend his visa up to 60 days.
