Haj consumer group Hajj Watch will soon release the findings of its investigation into the Gaironiesa Foundation and Lamy Travel. Two weeks ago, Hajj Watch was requested by Lamy Travel to investigate a deal that went sour between the operator and the Gaironiesa Foundation, a non-profit organisation that provides subsidised[…]
Ways of improving the global haj and umrah industry will be explored at a haj forum involving a myriad of stakeholders in the sector. The initiative is spearheaded by Hajj People, an enterprise company with a commercial engine that has a social purpose. The World Haj and Umrah convention will[…]
Tempers flared at a meeting in Bonteheuwel on Sunday called by Gaironiesa Foundation director Shahied Stakala. More than 300 people packed the multipurpose hall, to demand answers from Stakala and Lamy Travel, who have both been accused of misappropriating umrah funds. For the first time since December, Stakala faced the[…]
Aggrieved clients of Al Faisal Travel and Tours attended a court hearing on Tuesday, to resolve a dispute with embattled owner Sheik Faizel Karstens. The umrah operator has been ordered with a provisional sequestration which interdicts him from using his business account.Thabiet Albertus, representing a family of eighteen who has[…]
The decision taken by the Haj Ministry to issue Umrah visas during the month of Safar has proved to be a boon to domestic tourism with about 750,000 pilgrims performing Umrah during the month. Al-Sayed Ahmed Sheikh Alwi, an expert in the economics of Haj and Umrah tourism, said the[…]
Amid the December umrah debacles and subsequent complaints, the South African Haj and Umrah Council (Sahuc) has confirmed that the time period for haj complaints officially closed in November. Shaheen Essop, president of Sahuc, told VOC that the haj complaints process had been open since November until the beginning of[…]
The Haramain high-speed link connecting Makkah with Madinah is on track and will open by the end of Dec. 2015, according to Director General of Expansion Projects at Saudi Railways Organization Wasmi Al-Ferraj. Addressing a press conference, Al-Ferraj said that the line’s station in Madinah is now 52 percent complete.[…]
Airfares from India to Jeddah have increased by as much as 150 percent ahead of the birthday of the Prophet (peace be upon him) on Jan. 14. According to travel agents in India, Saudi diplomatic missions are issuing Umrah visas in the Hijri month of Rabi Al-Awwal for the first[…]
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