JEDDAH, 12 January 2004 — Tour operators will be allowed to bring in some 300,000 pilgrims, nearly a quarter of the 1.3 million coming from abroad for Haj this year, according to a senior Haj Ministry official.
Abdul Fattah Feda, director general of the ministry’s office in Makkah, said 1,414 travel and tourism companies are now permitted to provide Haj services. He said companies violating the terms of the contract would not be permitted to provide Haj services in the future. He reiterated the ministry’s commitment to helping the guests of God perform their religious duties in ease and comfort.
More than 250,000 pilgrims have so far arrived in the Kingdom from all over the world, according to Deputy Haj Minister Hatem Qadi. Many pilgrims had arrived directly in Madinah, he pointed out.
30,000 Iraqi Pilgrims
Some 30,000 Iraqi pilgrims are expected to arrive in the Kingdom via Kuwait, according to Mutlaq Al-Qarway, an official at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. Kuwait has set up a transit city for Muslims traveling through Kuwait to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage, he said.
The Iraqi pilgrims are due to arrive this week in groups of 5,000 through the northern Kuwaiti border point of Abdali and will be transferred to the transit city, Al-Qarway said.
Seminar on Transportation
On Jan. 19, the King Fahd Haj Research Institute, an affiliate of Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, will hold a seminar on pilgrim transportation. The seminar will discuss the management of transportation during Haj, pedestrian movement, the environmental effect, alternative transport means, and the transportation economy. A number of experts, including Transport Ministry officials and university professors, will debate some 26 papers.
Documentary on Haj
Saudi Arabian Airlines has produced a documentary film on Haj in eight languages: Arabic, English, French, Turkish, Bengali, Persian and Urdu as well as Bahasa, the language spoken by Indonesians, Malaysians and Singaporeans. Saleh Sindi, acting vice president for on-board services, said the film will be screened on all Haj flights.
