MATTA welcomes Saudi government’s decision related to Umrah tourism

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

The Malaysian Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (MATTA) feels very grateful to the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, His Grace Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah who was willing to spare time to discuss current issues related to Umrah during the Nusuk and Umrah+ launch ceremony which was organized by the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA).

Based on the discussions that have been held, MATTA thankfully successfully highlighted the issue of hotel price increases in the cities of Mecca and Medina which increased dramatically due to high demand immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic and thanked the government of Saudi Arabia for taking appropriate action to deal with this problem by controlling the increase in hotel prices so as not to be excessive for the congregation.

MATTA Vice President of Hajj and Umrah, Haji Mohd Azri bin Abd Razak thanked the government of Saudi Arabia for taking the time to resolve the issue of air ticket prices which are becoming increasingly burdensome and the number of flights to Jeddah seems to be limited especially during the peak season.

MATTA is confident that the Government of Saudi Arabia will take proactive steps to increase the frequency of flights to Jeddah to meet demand and facilitate the affairs of pilgrims to perform Umrah.

MATTA voiced that it is difficult for travel companies to make claims for pilgrims who experience health problems when performing Umrah because there are different insurance companies involved in claims matters.

They appreciate the services of the Saudi Arabian government to consider this issue in order to use a single application channel to facilitate the affairs of Umrah pilgrims.

MATTA welcomes the decision of the King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) to allow pilgrims to bring back zam-zam water by complying with certain conditions that have been set.

Among the conditions issued are that pilgrims are not allowed to put bottles of zam-zam water in their luggage, but instead take them with them on the plane, delivery operations for the purchase of zam-zam water must take place at the main point of sale and only 5-liter bottles are allowed to bring return with the condition that pilgrims need to submit proof of Umrah registration through the Nusuk application.

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