By Akram Medhat
Eman Samy, head of the Religious Tourism Committee at the Chamber of Tourism Companies, revealed that the total number of citizens who applied for the tourist Hajj lottery for 1438 AH/2017 AD reached 108,473, after registration closed a short while ago on the Interior Ministry's unified Hajj portal, through 1,750 tourism companies running Hajj programs this season. They are competing for 35,700 visas, representing tourism's share of Egypt's total Hajj visa quota, with the lottery to be held immediately after Eid al-Fitr.
Samy told Travel Yalla News in exclusive statements that the economy level accounted for the largest share of registrants, with 51,256 citizens competing for 11,000 visas.
She added that overland programs came second, with 37,382 citizens registered, competing for 13,000 visas, which represent the largest share of tourism's quota of the total visas allocated to Egypt.
The head of the Religious Tourism Committee continued that 5-star tourist Hajj drew 12,862 citizens, targeting 7,800 visas, while the 4-star level was the least successful in attracting lottery registrants, with 6,973 citizens, and its share of visas is 3,900.
Table showing the number of tourist Hajj applicants and each level's share of visas:
Level | Number of applicants | Number of visas allocated |
|---|---|---|
5-star | 12,862 | 7,800 |
4-star | 6,973 | 3,900 |
Economy (air) | 51,256 | 11,000 |
Overland | 37,382 | 13,000 |
Total | 108,473 | 35,700 |
