Ramadan Omra threatens tourism agencies of prison or bankruptcy

Tourism agencies called on General Director of Omra Office Cheikh Barbara to intervene so that they will avoid bankruptcy or prison as Saudi Hadj ministry reduced Ramadan Omra visas.

Vice-president of tourism agencies national union Cherif Menacer said the Saudi Haj ministry limited the number of Ramadan Omra visas. Algeria would have about 30,000 visas as it was granted additional visas after Egypt had abandoned Ramadan Omra.

The number of Algerian Omra performers reaches around 120,000 during the second part of the fasting month of Ramadan each year.

Menacer criticized Haj office for “not knowing what is happening in reality.” He said all the agencies got their visas share and they are “between the devil and the deep blue sea.” They had to return money to its owners as the number of booked hotels was not sufficient.

An agency owner in the province of Bordj Bouarreridj (east of Algiers) said he lost 640 million centimes this year because of the Saudi decision to reduce visas number.

Menacer suggested to coordinate efforts between Haj office and the Saudi ministry which is “held responsible for the problems faced by tourism agencies as it did not notify them in advance about visas reduction.”

He also criticized the State for not protecting the agencies. “Haj office gets        750 DZ on each pilgrim. So, why doesn’t it intervene to save the agencies from death?”

The number of tourism agencies in Algeria is estimated at 200.

“Tourism agencies may go bankrupt or go to jail because they are not protected by the State. Algerian tourism agency holds the religious affairs ministry responsible for that while Haj office did not react at all,” said the union vice-president.

“We want protection from the Haj office because the agencies did not receive a prior notice about the visas reduction decision,” he added.