Friday, Jul 23, 2010

Gulf News

Companies must apply by August 9, individuals by August 25

Riyadh The Saudi Haj Ministry announced yesterday that August 9 will be the last date companies can apply for umrah visas.

Individuals, however, could apply for umrah visas until August 25.

The ministry asked the licenced umrah companies to strictly adhere to the visa quotas they had been given.

“The companies should observe this capacity while marketing their umrah services to pilgrims and visitors,” the ministry said.

Chairman of the Haj and Umrah Committee at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sa’ad Al Quraishi, told Gulf News that the umrah companies had been trying to market more than 800,000 umrah visas in a number of countries through foreign tourist companies.

He said special emphasis had been given to some Arab countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco and Iraq, plus Turkey, where a big chunk of citizens preferred to do umrah during Ramadan.

Daily flights

Al Quraishi said umrah flights were landing daily in Saudi Arabia and he expected the number of pilgrims coming to umrah from the beginning of the season, to amount to more than 3.5 million.

This figure excluded GCC nationals.

Al Quraishi said Turkey topped the list of countries from which Muslim pilgrims were travelling to the kingdom for umrah, with a total of 700,000.

He said with domestic and GCC pilgrims, the number of umrah pilgrims for the seven-month season was expected to go beyond 4.5 million.

Al Quraishi said the visa quota system set by the Saudi Haj Ministry for every Muslim country had prevented a number of Muslims from coming for umrah.

“This has caused the umrah companies to complain as their income will adversely be affected,” he said.

Al Quraishi said the Makkah chamber was pressing the Makkah Governorate to find a solution to this problem.

sacred journey

pilgrimage

3.5m

pilgrims ?expected to perform Umrah this season

4.5m

expected, ?counting ?GCC nationals and Saudis

700,000

Turkish citizens expected ?to perform Umrah

By Abdul Rahman Shaheen?Correspondent

Gulf News 2010. All rights reserved.