MAKKAH – The National Committee of Hajj and Umrah (NCHU) at Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned local Umrah performers against falling victims to the tricks of some brokers - mostly expatriate and illegal workers - who claim that they could provide accommodation during the last ten days of Ramadan.
Abdullah Qadi, vice chairman of the committee, said the regulations for organizing services provided to local Umrah performers are still being studied by concerned authorities. It is expected that the regulations will be issued soon to put an end to the negative aspects that damage the reputation of the sector. “To be frank, the service sector of local Umrah performers has negative aspects way more than that of foreign Umrah performers,” he said.
The main problem facing the sector is fake Umrah packages promoted by brokers. Every year hundreds of local Umrah performers arrive in Makkah with no accommodation or place to stay at, because they have been fooled by some brokers who guaranteed them accommodation and then took their money and vanished. It is difficult to find accommodation for the large number of local Umrah performers who arrive in the last ten days of Ramadan because all hotels are full, Qadi noted.
One of the most difficult problems legitimate Saudi Umrah companies face during Ramadan is that some Umrah performers miss their flights and the company has to arrange for extended accommodation while they try to get bookings on another flight for them in a short time, which is difficult.
“We are certain that all Umrah performers who arrive in the Kingdom from abroad have confirmed return tickets. We have a list of their names and the hotels where they will stay, thanks to e-contracts sent by emails,” Qadi asserted. He urged Umrah performers coming from abroad as well as tourist companies overseas to sign a contract delineating the Umrah package details. The committee has discovered several times that tourist companies abroad did not alaways provide Umrah performers with the same services mentioned in the contract signed between both parties.
“The ministry will require the local Umrah company to provide the Umrah performer with the proper accommodation. Then the local company will contact the tourist company abroad and request it to pay the accommodation expenses. If the tourist company refuses, the local Umrah company can deduct the amount from the financial guarantee (estimated to be SR100,000) the tourist company deposited in the local company's account.”
Qadi didn't rule out the possibility that some local Umrah companies collude with travel agents abroad to change the class of the hotel. However, this is very rare in light of the strict procedures followed by the ministry to prevent such practices, he said. There are some cases when such thing happened but it was not intentional. For example, some new Umrah performers arrive in the Kingdom and find that the hotel where they are going to stay is still full of other Umrah performers whose departure has been delayed and they have to wait for the next flight. The newly-arrived Umrah performers will be provided with a hotel with lower class for a short time then they will be moved to the hotel they agreed upon with the travel agent in their homeland.
Saudi companies won't allow any Umrah performer to overstay his Umrah visa because they know that the ministry imposes severe penalties, let alone suspension. The ministry has suspended 200 Umrah companies since the new Umrah law was introduced ten years ago. Currently, there are 48 Umrah companies in operation. Qadi believes that most Umrah performers overstay their visas in Ramadan because they are keen to attend the last ten days of Ramadan in the Grand Mosque of Makkah.
