By Akram Medhat
Nasser Turky, a board member of the Egyptian Tourism Federation and head of its Government Relations and Media Committee, said Egypt is set to apply the online Umrah system in line with Saudi Arabia's electronic platform, starting next season, 1441 AH/2020.
Turky told Travel Yalla News that under the new system, Egyptian tourism companies' contracting with the Saudi agent will turn into completing the entire booking cycle online, in all its stages, from booking hotels, transfers and pilgrims' accommodation and the various services in the holy sites, all the way to issuing the visa electronically, so that the consulate's role disappears.
He noted that applying the electronic system in Saudi Arabia aims to account for the costs and prices of all services and for how the money received from Umrah pilgrims by the Saudi agent or the various service providers in the Kingdom is handled and spent, as the Saudi Umrah website will provide price offers from hotels, transport companies and other services.
Turky said Egyptian tourism companies will be able either to buy complete packages offered by the agents on the website, or to put together the various booking elements that make up an integrated program. However, issuing the Umrah visa electronically requires tourism companies to enter the required data of their Umrah pilgrim clients and to pay the full cost of the trip, depending on the length and level of the stay and the transfers required, so that they can print the visa without the need for the Saudi consulate, which currently issues Umrah visas and is located in the cities of Alexandria and Suez.
Turky expected the shift to an automated Umrah system to help raise program prices next season, due to the fees and taxes imposed by Saudi Arabia, as well as the loss of the option for clients to pay for the trip program in installments, since issuing the visa requires transferring the full cost of the program. He called on tourism companies that organize Hajj and Umrah programs to develop themselves and keep pace with the digital transformation in this activity, so that their role does not disappear and they do not become unable to compete.
Read also:
How to perform the Umrah rituals step by step
Cases in which the 2018 Umrah visa fee applies based on previous travel to perform the rituals
