A comprehensive upgrade of camps at no additional cost to pilgrims
6,000 pilgrims on 5-star programs housed in the Majar Al-Kabsh area directly facing the Jamarat Bridge; the new location was previously reserved for luxury Hajj
Economy and land camps close to the Jamarat Bridge, with full catering throughout the days at the holy sites and the same décor and fittings as five-star camps
Modern air conditioners, continuous maintenance, and juices and drinks throughout the day
Immediate solutions for individual cases of power cuts and air conditioning failures caused by extreme heat, with no impact on the pilgrims' experience of Arafat
Reports by the tourism Hajj mission revealed a number of unprecedented advantages provided in the camps for economy and land Hajj programs in Mina during the 1447 AH-2026 Hajj season, as they were equipped to specifications matching 5-star programs.
Among these advantages, the land and economy camps were moved this year to the locations that were reserved last year for five-star programs, bringing them close to the Jamarat Bridge and to the camps' entry and exit routes.
The land and economy camps are set to have full catering services throughout the days at the holy sites, along with the same décor and fittings used for last year's five-star camps, with special attention to installing modern air conditioners and round-the-clock maintenance in anticipation of the hot weather, and juices and drinks served throughout the day.
Over the past days, the Religious Tourism Committee carried out several intensive field tours of Mina and Arafat to review camp preparations and pilgrim accommodation plans, while the Chamber's work groups have maintained a round-the-clock presence for several days, in coordination with the committees of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Tawafa companies, to ensure all agreed contract terms and services are implemented and the best level of care is provided to Egyptian tourism pilgrims.
Committees of the tourism Hajj mission are following the work at the tourism pilgrims' camps in Arafat to make sure travel companies implement all the programs they contracted with their pilgrims, whether five-star, economy, land or the "Kidana Towers" program introduced this season, confirming that pilgrims are receiving all scheduled services, including accommodation, catering, medical care and religious guidance.
For her part, Samia Samy, Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Travel Company Affairs, Head of the Egyptian Tourism Hajj Mission and Head of the Supreme Committee for Umrah and Hajj, explained that on the Day of Arafah the mission's committees received a limited number of reports about temporary power cuts at some camps, caused by load-shedding on the grid due to extremely high temperatures at the holy sites and the accompanying sharp rise in air conditioner use. She stressed that immediate coordination took place with the implementing travel companies and the company providing services at the holy sites to deal with the situation quickly and restore power to the affected camps without affecting pilgrims' performance of their rituals in Arafat, along with increasing the distribution of cold water and drinks inside and outside the camps to preserve pilgrims' safety and comfort while performing the rituals.
In a surprise for tourism pilgrims, all 5-star tourism Hajj programs were upgraded this year, with all of their pilgrims, around 6,000, housed in the Majar Al-Kabsh area directly facing the Jamarat Bridge, which was previously reserved for luxury Hajj programs only. The mission stressed that this upgrade was carried out entirely without charging pilgrims or travel companies any additional cost.
The new camps feature open buffets operating throughout the day, more than 40 food items, cold drinks and modern air conditioners, as well as detailed maps inside each camp to make movement easier.
Kidana Hotel Towers
The five-star "Kidana Towers" program was also operated successfully as one of the most prominent innovations of this season. The program provides integrated hotel accommodation inside the holy sites as an advanced alternative to traditional tents, ensuring a more comfortable and private environment for pilgrims and reflecting the drive to raise the quality of services.
The program, implemented for the first time in Egyptian Hajj, benefited 2,800 pilgrims and saw strong demand from travel companies and pilgrims for its integrated hotel services in Mina, which has always been known for its ground-level camps.
It was agreed to provide specialized hotel management for Tower "C", with attention to continuous cleaning services, restaurants operating throughout the day and integrated hospitality services inside the towers, in addition to the tower's proximity to the Jamarat Bridge, which it directly faces.
Hotel services included room service by a large number of trained hotel staff, with rooms cleaned several times a day without disturbing resident pilgrims, each group staying in a separate room, as each floor was divided into a set of hotel rooms, with an adequate number of toilets allocated on each floor and kept clean.
A number of refrigerators filled with juices, ice cream and drinks were placed on each floor, along with coffee machines, and an entire floor of the 5-storey tower was allocated to women only, with all the services they need provided on that floor.
As for the sixth floor, or the tower's roof, part of it was allocated as a public restaurant, in addition to the restaurants on each floor, and the other part as a large lounge with seating, fully open onto Mina and overlooking the camps and the Jamarat Bridge.
