A local tour guide says the new Hajj booking system has ‘broken' travel agencies in Manchester. This week millions will be undertaking the spiritual journey of hajj which is an obligation for Muslims.
The pilgrimage is one of the most important events in a Muslim's life and is considered one of the five Pillars of Islam. Therefore, any adult Muslim who has the means to do so is obliged to undertake the sacred journey at least once in their life.
READ MORE: What is the Hajj in Islam?
However, on June 6 the Saudi government announced that pilgrims from Europe, US and Australia were no longer able to book their journey through travel agencies and had to apply through a lottery system known as the Motawif by 13 June. The scheme was been brought in place to crack down on fraudulent agencies and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah advised travellers not selected to request refunds from tour operators.
Mohsin Shah is the owner of Wish Tours on Slade Lane in Burnage. With ten years in the industry, Mohsin opened his own agency just three years ago.
He says while there were 'rumours' of an online system, news of the Motawif came at 'very short notice' and left him scrambling to save his customers' pilgrimages and many of them missed out leaving them 'devastated'.
Speaking to the MEN he said: “I found out about the system on the first week of June, it was pretty short notice, we had all the bookings in place. Everything was ready and we were just waiting for news from the Ministry of Hajj in Saudi about how we should pay them.
"Instead, they came out with a new portal and cancelled everything, it was not shocking because we were sort of ready for it. There were rumours that hajj bookings would be online, but nobody knew how it would be implemented.
“When the news came, it put is in a bad position, we had to refund everyone. For the last two years we’ve had to deal with the pandemic and in 2021 there was no hajj for internationals.
"This year would have been the first time in two years people would be allowed to go and we were expecting to do well because people were keen to go there. Hajj is the main part of our business, the news broke us basically, they could have announced it earlier.
"Like three or four months ago so we would be prepared for it, but announcing it at the last minute and having us do all this? It’s not been good for us.”
Mohsin had already made bookings with 18 people and was set to travel with them from Manchester Airport on Monday (July 4). Instead, he said he had to refund 13 people from the group while helping the other five with their application for the Motawif as they were not tech savvy enough.
Mohsin says that when they found out that he would no longer be accompanying them for the trip, they opted out of going this year.
With packages ranging up to £11,500 per person Wish Tours book the flight, organises the visas and accommodation and offers tours to historical sites to a group of 18 pilgrims.
He said: “I just spoke to a family who couldn’t go recently, and they were devastated, they didn’t even want to talk about it. I don’t know anyone of my group who’s going.
"Another family that I helped with the application got approved, but when they found out that I wasn’t going with them, they said that they’re not going.
"They said ‘who will be there to look after us?' I didn’t know and couldn’t tell them anything because it doesn’t say in the system."
Pilgrims have been required to book hajj packages through licensed travel companies since 2006. But under the new system, travellers were required to book through the online portal (Motawif).
Through this applicants were randomly selected by a lottery system and had to book accommodation and transport through their website. The criteria was that all travellers must be under 65 and vaccinated against coronavirus.
Mohsin said: “For me, there’s nothing wrong with the Motawif, when someone wants to go to Greece for example, they can choose their own package online or go to a travel agent on the high street.
“But Saudi should give people that option, to go through the Motawif or a local tour guide. This is an idea we want to put through to the Saudi Ministry.
"They should run both systems in parallel rather than just cutting off everyone and working in their monopoly. Hopefully next year they can do things differently. This was beyond our expectation and we wish everyone who is already there good luck and we will see the feedback on the Motawif when they return.
“We’re not scared for our future though because when one door is closed another is open. So we wish for the best, insha'Allah.”
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