Demand grows for Umrah trips as Ramadan end nears

Umrah bus operators are striving to cope with the rush of people going to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage during Ramadan.

"We had placed advertisements in the Arabic press that the cut-off date for Saudi visas is October 25, but nobody paid attention. Now all of them are coming to book Umrah packages," said Adnan Essa, manager of Al Shahba Haj and Umrah, complaining that people always turn up at the last moment.

Essa's office is opposite the majestic King Faisal Mosque on King Abdul Aziz Street. This summer, his agency alone has sent 2,500 people for Umrah. There are about 30 such agencies in Sharjah.

There are many more in Ajman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, said Deiab Arrok, manager of Belad Al Sham, agent of Saudi Arabian Transport Company (Saptco) in Sharjah. He said Saptco runs a bus every day to Makkah, which is about 75km from the Red Sea port city of Jeddah and is almost a day's journey.

Kareem Ibrahim, owner of Dubai-based Mediterranean Transportation and Bus Rental, said he is waiting to lease out his 500 buses for people going for Umrah. He expects enquiries from operators will peak during the last 10 days of Ramadan.

Asked why October 25 was the cut-off date, Arrok said this was the normal procedure in the Kingdom to control crowds from swelling every year. "Muslims consider the Ramadan 22 the holiest day and there will be millions going to Makkah for Umrah," he explains. "The crowd will be more than during Haj."

Last year 32,000 people from the UAE performed Haj, according to Essa. His Umrah package starts from Dh800 and can run up to Dh10,000. "We can get you accommodation very near the Grand Mosque," he said.

Asked whether Sharjah's no-frills airline, Air Arabia, will be a big competitor for Umrah bus operators, he disagreed. Regular air fare on the Dubai-Jeddah-Dubai sector is around Dh2,000, he said.

Ajman-based Al Buraq Haj and Umrah, meanwhile, has raised its package price to Dh1,000 because of the expected Ramadan rush. It usually charges Dh700 for the trip, including visa services, bus fare and accommodation.

Not all passengers are, however, satisfied with the operators. Aijaz Ahmed, who travelled to Makkah with his wife and daughter claimed there was no air-conditioning in the bus, the driver was a novice and spent six hours searching for accommodation, for which he had to pay again.