JEDDAH, 15 July 2006 — At a meeting held in Jeddah recently, Umrah operators have decided to complain to the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) about the Haj Ministry’s decision to not renew the licenses of some of the companies, Al-Watan daily reported.
According to owners of the Umrah companies, they incurred more than SR18 billion in losses distributed in many sectors, such as hotel, restaurant, transportation and trade.
They said that about one million pilgrims would be excluded from coming to the Kingdom through 105 companies that are now eliminated. Foreigners are required by law to perform their pilgrimages through certified tour agencies.
Khaled Huwaidi, deputy president of Haj and Umrah Committee at Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that they were preparing the final draft for the letter to the NSHR, which will be sent to them sometime this week.
The letter will include a detailed list of losses Umrah companies faced in the past year and the expected losses for the next five years. Umrah operators previously sent letters to higher authorities against the Ministry of Haj. They demanded creation of an independent committee to investigate the actions taken by the ministry.
