By Akram Medhat
The Chamber of Tourism Companies warned those wishing to perform Hajj against dealing with intermediaries and brokers, and urged them to go directly to tourism companies in Cairo or the other governorates, to prevent fraud and the loss of rights.
In this context, Basel El-Sisi, the chamber's Vice Chairman, said brokers use more than one trick to ensnare their prey among citizens, aiming to collect as many passports as possible to bargain with tourism companies for the highest commission, which sometimes ranges from EGP 5,000 to EGP 10,000 per passport.
El-Sisi added in press statements that any amounts added to the prices of the tourist Hajj programs approved by the ministry at their various levels are borne by the citizen who has fallen prey to the broker's net, noting that if the citizen wins a Hajj visa, the broker blackmails him again, claiming he interceded for him to win the lottery, which harms the tourist Hajj system.
El-Sisi stressed that tourist Hajj procedures depend on dealing directly with the tourism company and obtaining official receipts for any amounts paid to the company, in addition to the citizen signing, after winning a Hajj visa, a comprehensive contract with the tourism company that includes all details of the Hajj trip and services, whether at the overland, economy, 4-star or 5-star level, and states the price of each program.
For his part, Ahmed Ibrahim, head of the chamber's Religious Tourism Committee, stressed the need for a legal provision criminalizing brokers' work in Hajj or Umrah activity, as part of the new amendments to tourism legislation that Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, has pledged to issue, explaining that the broker sells lies to both parties, the company and the citizen.
He added that the chamber is making great efforts to confront this phenomenon by raising citizens' awareness of the danger of dealing with intermediaries and by facilitating Hajj procedures and the submission of papers.
He criticized some people's resort to brokers, which is no longer limited to ordinary people but has extended to distinguished cultural and social levels, despite the presence of companies and their branches everywhere, noting that the chamber is confronting this phenomenon in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism to protect citizens' rights.
Alaa El-Ghamry, a member of the chamber's board and Religious Tourism Committee, pointed out that if any problem occurs, the broker disappears completely or falsely blames the tourism company, and the citizen may lose the opportunity to perform the pilgrimage or fall victim to blackmail and pay higher amounts.
In the same context, Yousry El-Saoudi, a member of the board and the Religious Tourism Committee, explained that all companies organizing tourist Hajj display at the entrances of their offices the Ministry of Tourism license that gives them the right to organize Hajj, in addition to the programs they offer, including prices and services, and any citizen can ask the company's staff about them, so as not to fall victim to brokers' greed.
Ali El-Manasterly, a board member, noted that the coming development of the Hajj system, whether in Egypt or Saudi Arabia, and the move toward automation and electronic work, will help eliminate various negative practices, most notably the phenomenon of brokers, as it offers great facilities for applying and completing procedures electronically.
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