Egypt hunts down dishonest travel agencies

Egyptians account for more than half of the 1,300 people who died during the pilgrimage to Mecca, which was held in extreme temperatures. Agencies have sent many pilgrims with a simple tourist visa, not allowing, in particular, access to air-conditioned infrastructure.

The pilgrimage ended on Wednesday June 12 and the sanctions did not drag on. Sixteen agencies have already been stripped of their rights. Egypt is hunting down dishonest travel agencies, those accused of sending pilgrims to Mecca without authorization. A practice which largely contributed to the 1,300 deaths last week in scorching temperatures. The Egyptian Prime Minister ordered on Saturday “the revocation of their license, the referral of their managers to the prosecution for ‘fraud’as well as a fine “for the benefit of the families of those who died by their fault.”

These agencies are accused of having sent pilgrims to Saudi Arabia with a simple tourist visa and not with a specific visa for the hajj. However, to make this pilgrimage, which every Muslim who is able to do so must carry out at least once in their life, you need a permit. Not having one changes everything. Illegal pilgrims find themselves housed in overcrowded, non-air-conditioned tents. They are hiding from the authorities, cannot call for medical assistance, nor take the buses, which organize the rotations to the Kaaba. Many Egyptians even cross the desert on their own to reach Mecca.

Last week the temperatures were literally unbearable. It never got colder than 40 degrees, with highs of 51.8 degrees. Of the 1,300 deaths recorded in 2023 by the Saudi authorities, the vast majority victims of sunstroke and dehydration, 83% were not recorded. Egyptians represent more than half of this sad toll.

So many pilgrims arrive without visas because official permits allocated according to a quota system are very expensive. For Egypt, for example, there are 90,000. Half are distributed by the authorities by drawing lots, at very low prices. The other half given to approved travel agencies, which charge huge sums, the equivalent of at least five years’ salary. Even those who can afford it try to circumvent the system to save several thousand dollars.

Just before the pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia announced it had turned away more than 300,000 people on simple tourist visas, but at least 400,000 others managed to slip through the cracks. Some 400,000 people out of a total of around 1.8 million participants. The authorities of the kingdom, although implicated in the sometimes chaotic reception of official pilgrims, do not feel in any way responsible. “The State has not failed, said a high dignitary on Friday, the pilgrims made an error of judgment and did not measure the risks involved.