Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al-Mashat stated that the Egyptian Umrah Portal will be the platform that brings together the Umrah programs of tourism companies at all their levels, pointing to the cooperation with the tourism companies that came up with the idea and have expertise in this file, as well as the ministries of communications, civil aviation and interior, and various state bodies, to ensure the success of this important step in the Umrah system, which is one of the main files of the structural reform program for the tourism sector, as well as the success of technological development to keep pace with its development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, especially after the activation of the electronic Umrah visa.
She added, during the press conference held to announce the launch of the Egyptian Umrah Portal, that launching the portal took two straight months in order to take into account its legal and technical dimensions, noting that the Chamber of Tourism Companies will be responsible for promoting it. She indicated that the Higher Committee for Hajj is scheduled to meet this week to set the regulations for the new Umrah season of 1441 AH, and highlighted the coordination with the Saudi side.
The Minister of Tourism stressed that the Egyptian Umrah Portal aims to organize the travel of Umrah pilgrims through an integrated electronic system linking the Ministry of Tourism with all relevant authorities, through which all procedures related to pilgrims' travel via air and land ports will be carried out, ensuring the state's full supervision of the organization of Umrah trips through the Ministry of Tourism, with the participation of the Chamber of Travel and Tourism Companies and Agencies. In addition, the portal will be linked to the Passports Authority of the Ministry of Interior.
Al-Mashat explained that this system has many advantages, including guaranteeing pilgrims' right to have the programs agreed with the Umrah organizing companies carried out, and following up on their status from booking until their return home, as well as guaranteeing the state's right to monitor this system and providing correct and accurate information to pilgrims in a way that ensures citizen satisfaction, in addition to keeping pace with technological development in the automation of services provided to citizens as one of the main pillars of the Sustainable Development Strategy 2030. She noted that this system is applied in many countries around the world and has proven successful, including Indonesia and Malaysia.
