Doha, April 05 (QNA) - A number of owners and managers of Umrah and Hajj campaigns in Qatar confirmed that the number of pilgrims during the current holy month of Ramadan doubled, indicating that the return of performing Umrah rituals by land contributed significantly to the increase in the demand for travel to perform Umrah.
They said in statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the demand for Umrah and Hajj campaigns is expected to increase during the last 10 days of the blessed month of Ramadan, due to the desire of many citizens and residents to perform Umrah rituals during this holy month.
In this context, Hatem Al Khalidi, owner of the "Hatem" campaign for Hajj and Umrah, confirmed that the return of flights by land contributed to raising the demand for performing Umrah rituals, given that the costs of travel to perform Umrah by land are much lower than flights. The price of the road trip ranges between QR 2100- QR 2300, while the cost of the air trip ranges between QR 3500- QR 7000 and its duration ranges between 4 and 5 days. An increase in prices is expected during the last 10 days of Ramadan compared to the prices of the first twenty days of the holy month.
For her part, Samira Hussein Al Yafei, owner of the "Tawaf" campaign for Umrah, said that the demand for Umrah witnessed an upward trend during the month of Ramadan, and that the increase in the rate of reservations compared to last year amounted to 100 percent, and it will double more during the last 10 days of the blessed month. The procedures are done in easy and smooth ways, especially after the procedures taken by the Saudi authorities related to the visa. She said that some campaigns run weekly trips, by land by bus, or by air.
In turn, Majdi Rizk, director of the "Good" campaign, confirmed the upward trend of reservations by citizens and residents to perform Umrah rituals during the month of Ramadan, especially in the last 10 days, indicating that the prices of trips by land range between QR 1700- QR 2300, while the price of trips by air ranges between QR 4200 - QR 5500. Rizk said he expects prices to rise during the last 10 days of the holy month as a result of the increase in demand during this period, stressing in the same context the smoothness and ease of procedures related to Umrah by the various concerned parties. He noted that the Umrah procedures are very easy and that anyone can obtain the visa immediately after submitting the application for obtaining it in one day, and there are no difficult conditions, as obtaining the Umrah visa requires submitting a copy of the residence card in the State of Qatar, a copy of the passport and a personal photo, and that Umrah is available to all ages without exception.
The Saudi Ministry of Tourism had canceled the requirement for specific professions to grant tourist visas to residents of the GCC countries. According to the ministry, holders of a tourist visa, which includes all residents of the Gulf countries of all professions, can perform Umrah. (QNA)