Travel companies, bus owners protest Saudi visa hike

AMMAN — Owners of buses and Hajj and umra companies appealed on Sunday to His Majesty King Abdullah to take action regarding Saudi Arabia’s recent umra visa fee hike.

They gathered in front of the Abdali Bus Terminal, raising slogans to implore King Abdullah to intervene and resolve the issue, Kamal Abu Thiab, the spokesperson of the religious tourism committee at the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents, told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The Saudi government took the decision to raise the entry visa fees early in October and thus the affected parties, including the Truck Owners Association, urged the government to contact Saudi Arabia and ask it to exclude Jordan from the decision.

Performing the lesser Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca used to cost JD150 through travel agencies that cover transport and residence costs, but now it costs an additional JD400 for visa fees, Abu Thiab added.

Around 500,000 Jordanians perform umra annually in over 3,000 buses, said the treasurer of the Bus Owners Association, Odeh Abu Hassan. 

“After the hike, no more than 10 per cent [of the 500,000 Jordanians] will go to umra,” Abu Hassan told The Jordan Times, adding that this caused their business to decrease by about 90 per cent. 

The visa hike would lead to closing 220 Hajj and umra companies, and damage aviation and overland transport companies, Abu Thiab said. 

Royal Jordanian (RJ) said that umra flights would decrease by at least 40 per cent compared to last year and the visa hike would greatly impact the company, according to Basel Kilani, RJ’s spokesperson.

RJ operates two flights to Jeddah and one to Medina Munawara daily, said Kilani, noting that the umra flights are arranged through travel agents.