Nadine Osman

Travel agents of Morocco and Egypt will boycott Hajj and Umrah exhibitions following a Saudi decision to impose a fee of SR2,000 (£435) on any pilgrim travelling to the kingdom for a second time.

The National Federation of Travel Agents of Morocco’s decision to boycott exhibitions in Saudi Arabia was made on October 6, four days after the fees came to affect. The Moroccan group also contacted the Saudi authorities to work on abolishing the new fees, reported the Middle East Monitor.

The Egyptian Travel Agents Association (ETAA) formed a foreign ministry sanctioned committee which will travel to Saudi Arabia and persuade the Ministry of Hajj to overturn the decision.  

A number of Egyptian tourism companies’ owners called for boycotting Umrah trips, while EETA officials said they would wait until contact had been made with the Saudi authorities.

The Travel Agents Associations of Pakistan has also appealed to its country’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, to lobby Saudi Arabia.

Chaired by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, the Saudi’s Council of Ministers announced that the new visa fees will affect pilgrims going to Makkah and Madinah on repeat pilgrimages, while visas for first time pilgrims will remain free.

Prices for general visits will increase to SR200 (£41) for a two-month visa and SR300 (£61) for three, the Saudi Gazette reported.