Radio Islam and Agencies | 19 October 2016

Egypt’s Association of Travel Agents(ETAA), a non-governmental union, has suspended pacts for the Umrah or lesser pilgrimage journeys from the Muslim country after Saudi Arabia hiked up visa fees.

The union said in a statement last week it had temporarily halted all Umrah-related activities until mechanisms for applying the Saudi decision become clear.

Last month, Saudi Arabia announced levying 2000 Saudi riyals in visa fees for Muslim visitors who previously performed the Haj or the Umrah in the kingdom. However, it has been reported that the kingdom would bear this fee for new pilgrims who are travelling to perform Hajj or Umrah for the first time.

The move was part of an austerity package unveiled by the oil-producing kingdom to shore up its finances dented by a fall in crude prices.

“We appeal to the Custodian of Holy Mosques [the Saudi monarch] to consider aspirations of millions of Egyptians who yearn for visiting the Holy Grand Mosque by lifting the financial burden from their shoulders,” the union said in the statement released on Saturday.

The union voiced concerns that ordinary Egyptians will be “negatively affected” by the Saudi move.

“The Saudi fees are hefty for the majority of Egyptians who want to perform the Umrah, as most of them are limited incomers,” Basil Al Sissi, an official in the Chamber of Travel Agents, said in media remarks.

The Chairman of the Religious Tourism Committee at the ETAA Sherif Saeed said that the tourism companies didn’t agree to any contracts with their Saudi partners as a result of the fee hike.

 He pointed out that the Saudi authorities have delayed the issuance of Umrah visas for all counties for a month until contracts are documented.

 Saeed also pointed out that the ETAA is in contact with the Saudi authorities to discuss the decision and its implications on pilgrims travelling to perform Umrah.

Al Sissi expected a drop by half in the numbers of Egyptians wishing to do the Umrah.

“These fees are exaggerated and equal the cost of most Umrah programmes.”

A member of the General Assembly at the ETAA, Sabry Abou Zeid, described the new fees as unrealistic.

Egypt with a population of 91 million is among the top Muslim countries whose nationals go to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage.

Around 1.3 million Egyptians performed the Umrah last year, according to official figures.

At least 30 per cent of the Egyptian pilgrims are estimated to have done the Umrah at least once.

In a related development, the Travel Agents Association of Pakistan has recommended that the Pakistani government contact the Saudi authorities to urge them to reconsider the dramatic increase in Umrah fees.

The Association appealed to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to request Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdul Aziz to reconsider the new fees policy.

They acknowledged the brotherly and fraternal relations that both countries enjoyed, but argued that the rise in Umrah fees could deprive many people of the sacred pilgrimage.

In South Africa, the newly formed Anti Visa Fee Committee SA (AVC SA) has announced that a delegation from the community advocacy body will today be meeting senior officials of the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) in Pretoria to explore possible high level interventions on the impasse.

The committee, whose mission includes the immediate suspension and scrapping of the new fee regime, says it has been mandated by the Muslim community in South Africa to raise concerns about the thorny issue.