After Saudi Arabia began applying a meal system to Umrah pilgrims arriving from several countries, including Egypt, as one of the basic conditions for issuing an Umrah visa through the "Nusuk" platform from 14 August, prospective pilgrims have been asking about the details of the new system, which may lead to higher prices for some programs in the current 1448 AH-2026 season.
In exclusive statements to Travel Yalla News, Walid Khalil, a board member of the Chamber of Tourism Companies, Vice Chairman of its Religious Tourism Committee and a member of the Supreme Committee for Hajj and Umrah, explained that the new meal system applies to economy Umrah programs that include bookings in hotels of 3 stars or below, setting an allocated value for pilgrims' daily meals throughout their stay. Programs with bookings in 4- and 5-star hotels are not subject to the meal system.
Applying the meal system in Makkah and Madinah
The vice chairman of the chamber's religious tourism committee said the meal system has not yet been fully applied on the Nusuk platform for hotels in Makkah and Madinah, and that its actual application becomes clear through each booking. He noted that there is no minimum or maximum price for meals, as it depends on each agent's contract with specific restaurants as well as the contents of each meal.
Khalil noted that actual program bookings through Nusuk currently apply only to hotels in Makkah, with Madinah hotels still outside the system, and that visa issuance procedures are completed once a single daily meal is selected, so far without a minimum or maximum.
Fees and their impact on Umrah program prices
Walid Khalil stressed that the current system does not impose fees or a fixed value for the mandatory meals on economy Umrah programs in hotels of 3 stars or below, so any increase in current program prices cannot be estimated or quantified.
