The Chamber of Travel and Tourism Companies and Agencies signed a contract with Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Hajj Services Company for tourism Hajj services at the holy sites for the new 1447 AH season. The move comes amid early organizational procedures for Hajj in line with Egyptian and Saudi regulations and systems, as well as the chamber's efforts to provide the best services to tourism companies' pilgrims in the new season.
The chamber said that Al Rajhi won the contract for 3 years starting from the next 1447 AH season, to provide hospitality services for all tourism Hajj programs of all levels at the holy sites. The contract was signed after a marathon of negotiations between the two sides to agree on its terms, especially regarding the services provided to tourism pilgrims, and the Saudi side showed responsiveness to and acceptance of the chamber's demands.
The tourism pilgrims service contract was signed by Ahmed Ibrahim, head of the Religious Tourism Committee at the chamber, and Eng. Abdulwahab Al Rajhi, Chairman of Al Rajhi Hajj Services Company "Al Rajhi Supporting Commercial Services (Mateen Al Manasek)", in the presence of Yousry El-Saudi, member of the chamber's board of directors and member of the Higher Committee for Hajj and Umrah, and Walid Khalil, deputy head of the Religious Tourism Committee and member of the Higher Committee. A fruitful dialogue was held with the Saudi delegation, led by Ahmed Samir, Deputy CEO of Al Rajhi Hajj Services Company, on the details of the contract and the services it includes.
Members of the tourism chamber praised the great flexibility shown by the Saudi company's officials and their responsiveness to the chamber's demands. The officials, in turn, expressed their happiness at winning the service of all tourism pilgrims, affirming their determination to make every effort to provide the best services to pilgrims. They expressed their appreciation for Egypt, for which Al Rajhi and all its employees hold special affection and status, as well as their acknowledgment and appreciation of the chamber's selection of the company for the second year in a row to serve the companies' pilgrims, which reflects the satisfaction of the chamber and tourism companies with Al Rajhi's performance last season, stressing their keenness to make even greater efforts this year to improve the services provided to tourism pilgrims.
The chamber noted that talks between the tourism chamber and the Saudi company began immediately after the end of the past 1446 AH Hajj season, and several amendments were made to the contract between the two sides in line with developments so far in the systems and regulations governing Hajj in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The chamber's administrative staff, headed by Osama Emara, the chamber's executive director, made great efforts during that period to prepare the contract under the supervision of the head and members of the chamber's Religious Tourism Committee, in coordination with officials of the Saudi company.
The signing of the contract was preceded by the completion of negotiations and talks between the two sides at the chamber's headquarters, with the participation of Abdullah Sambawa, head of investment and growth projects at Al Rajhi, and Ibrahim Filali, the company's head of operations, and, from the chamber, Saher Selim, director of the Religious Tourism Department, and Ahmed Kotb, in charge of the chamber's general secretariat. The talks began with a review of reports on the past Hajj season to avoid its shortcomings and maximize its positives, and chamber officials praised Al Rajhi's distinguished services during the past season and its success in intervening immediately during the season to resolve all the problems that arose.
The two sides agreed to continue their talks in the coming period, which will see an early start to tourism Hajj procedures in implementation of Saudi and Egyptian regulations. Early action will also be taken with tourism companies on Hajj procedures, with all means of comfort to be provided for tourism pilgrims and continuous improvement of the services offered to them.
