Many Umrah firms face closure

The Ministry of Haj may close down 48 companies thought to hold a monopoly on the Umrah market, according to a reliable source.
The ministry is working on a list of regulations that include opening up the religious market to new companies after a decade in which no licenses were issued to Haj transportation firms.
A source in the ministry told local media that the new UmraH regulations will be followed by a public and official announcement. But according to the source, these companies must operate within three principals: Financial liquidity, administrative ability and operational experience. The new regulations will include an increase in the bank guarantee from the current SR500,000 to SR1 million.
After the new guidelines have been issued, a committee formed by members from the Haj Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the Supreme Commission will be set up to lay down the operational strategy in 60 days.
According to the source, there are two main options for the Haj Ministry to open the door for new specialized companies. The first is to shut down all existing Umrah companies and force all new firms to conform to the new regulations while the second option, the source explained, would be to allow the existing companies to continue operating while issuing licenses to new firms.
One of these Umrah company owners, who preferred to remain anonymous, said there are indicators that suggest the Haj Ministry will choose the first option and cancel all of the companies' permits, opening the market for all the firms who want to compete.
Many Umrah transportation businesses fear that this decision will create major instability in the market, since each of these companies employ about 5,000 workers.
Adding to the problem, owners claim, there are investments put in place for these companies which kept up with the developments witnessed in this Umrah season.
These businessmen called for the government to support existing Umrah companies and to open up the market to new firms because of the increasing numbers of pilgrims in the country.
They also warned about the dangers of leaving the entire sector to new and inexperienced companies, that have no training on how to handle such a large and profitable market.