By Akram Medhat
The Ministry of Tourism closes today the registration of citizens wishing to perform Hajj for the 1440 AH/2019 season with tourism companies. The public electronic lottery to select the winners of the tourist Hajj is scheduled for March 27, in coordination with the Chamber of Tourism Companies, and the Hajj and Umrah operations room will remain open until the end of the day.
In this context, Ahmed Ibrahim, head of the Religious Tourism Committee at the Chamber of Tourism Companies, stated that the number of companies that registered their customers wishing to perform Hajj this year reached 1,964 tourism companies, noting that the number of applicants approached last season's figures, which confirms citizens' confidence in the tourist Hajj and its distinguished services. He explained that the ministry decided to allow activation of booking commitment receipts from the Chamber of Tourism Companies' website until 5 p.m. today at the latest, so that companies can complete the procedures for registering the data of citizens wishing to perform Hajj.
Ibrahim added that most applicants chose the economy programs due to the reasonable prices and distinguished services that companies compete to offer, pointing out that the contract consists of two copies, one each for the pilgrim and the tourism company, so the pilgrim has the right to file a complaint with the Ministry of Tourism if companies breach the terms of the contract.
On the other hand, he pointed out that the Hajj regulations included drawing up a waiting list for each tourism company with the names of its pilgrims ranked in descending order, so that after the lottery is held and the final number of supervisors is settled, pilgrims whose turn comes up are moved up to complete the number allocated to each company.
He explained that following the public lottery for all levels and the announcement of the winners of the 36,000 Hajj visas, the booking commitment fee will be refunded to citizens who were not successful in the lottery within a month at most of the date the results are announced. Registration of "solidarity" entities (company consortia) for all levels together will also open from March 28 until April 4.
For his part, Hossam El-Shaer, chairman of the Chamber of Tourism Companies, explained that the Hajj and Umrah system has been developed and updated to automate Hajj work in all its stages, starting with company registration and pilgrims' payment of the booking deposit, and linking the chamber's website with the Ministries of Tourism and Interior and the banks, so that payment is recorded on the chamber's website as soon as booking commitment fees are paid at banks. The chamber electronically determines the number of pilgrims for each company according to the booking deposit, without the need for a company representative to visit the chamber or any of those entities.
Read also:
Tourist Hajj Lottery Date 2019 and Each Level's Share of Visas
Find Out the Tourist Hajj Prices for the 1440 AH/2019 Season
Learn About the Hajj Rituals: Their Pillars and How to Perform Them
