One guide for 130 hadj performers this year

The Office of Hadj and Omra reduced the number of accredited imams and guides in charge of accompanying tour agencies to one guide for 130 persons compared to one guide for 50 persons.

Chief of Tour Agencies Union Cherif Menasra said accredited agencies in charge of supervising hadj trips received emails from the Office, saying every 130 hadj performers will have a guide.

He believes that this would create big problems to agencies and would have a negative impact on hadj performance. “One single guide can not control a group of more than 100 people,” he said.

He criticized the religious affairs ministry for imposing the list of imams on agencies without taking into account the specificity of each area.

“Hadj is not a commercial issue. If there is no organization, we can not bear the responsibility of what will happen,” he added.