Govt will halt new license for umrah travel bureau

December 21, 2016, 03.49 PM  | Reporter: Dede Suprayitno
Govt will halt new license for umrah travel bureau


JAKARTA. The tight competition on the business of umrah (minor hajj) travel bureau has led to a tariff war, while the travel bureaus tend to ignore the service quality. Therefore, Ministry of Religious Affairs is planning to issue a temporary moratorium for the new license of umrah travel bureau.

Based on the record of Ministry of Religious Affairs, there are 650 umrah travel bureaus, including 123 providers of visa to Saudi Arabia. “That is the moderate number. We will issue a moratorium to control the number and prevent the new problems,” said Minister of Religious Affairs Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, Tuesday (21/12).

Lukman Hakim ensured that the ministry is formulating the moratorium. However, Lukman is undecided whether to implement the policy at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2017.

Aside of controlling the number of umrah travel bureaus, the policy also aims at supervising the umrah travel bureaus in a more optimum manner. Recently, the ministry has cracked down seven umrah travel bureaus, which shirked their duties, such as abandoning the pilgrims.

Chairman of the Association of Hajj and Umrah Organizers Baluki Ahmad hoped that the government will adopt a more firm stance over the umrah travel bureaus, mainly the ilegal travel bureaus. The massive business potentials of the business of umrah travel have led to lack of monitorings.

Understandably, umrah travel is a lucrative business. According to Ministry of Religious Affairs, the number of umrah pilgrims has increased by 14% from 717,000 in 2015 to 818,000.

Baluki estimated, every day Saudi Arabia prints at least 15,000 visas for Indonesian Muslims to conduct pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The eastern part of Indonesia, mainly Makassar contributed to 60% of the total pilgrimages.

The cost of umrah visa is US$ 70-US$ 80 per person. The additional cost of SR 2,000 or Rp 7 million is predicted to not affect to the public animo to conduct the pilgrimage.

Aside of illegal umrah travel bureau, President Director of PT Alfa Kaza Mustika Alfa Edison Haji is worried that competition in the umrah travel business becomes unhealthier. For an example, some travel bureaus offer excessively low tariff to attract the pilgrims. “The quality of services for the pilgrims should be concerned,” he told KONTAN.

Director General of the Hajj and Umrah Organizing at the Ministry of Religious Abdul Djamil understands the complaints from the travel bureaus. He promised to crack down the travel bureaus, which did not provide proper service to the pilgrims. “We will also crack down the ilegal travel bureaus,” he added.

(Muhammad Farid/Translator)

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