Tourism Ministry considers SAR 2,000 fee as part of new Umra regulations

The Tourism Ministry is considering imposing a SAR 2,000 (c. EGP 10,000) fee on umra requests this season for anyone who has performed the smaller of the two Muslim pilgrimages in the last three years, Al Shorouk reports. The news caused a stir among tour operators, who said the fee was too high and would be detrimental for demand. The decision, however, is not final and still under study, the ministry’s Religious Tourism Committee chair Hisham Amin said, explaining that new regulations will in fact prioritize first timers and those who haven’t been in more than three years.