Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has suspended contracts with 1,800 travel agencies due to performance shortcomings, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah announced on Sunday, February 1.
Nearly 5,800 travel agencies operate in the Umrah.
The ministry has given the agencies a ten-day grace period to rectify deficiencies flagged during a periodic review, which highlighted lapses in performance and service quality.
“The suspension is limited to the issuance of new visas and is intended as a regulatory measure to allow agencies to rectify classification gaps and meet approved standards,” the ministry clarified.
Contracts will be reinstated once the agencies fulfil the required conditions within the stipulated grace period.
According to the Saudi News Agency, Spokesperson Ghassan Alnwaimi said regulatory action will be taken against any travel agency that fails to correct shortcomings by the deadline
He said the ministry would continue to deploy monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to enhance the credibility of the Umrah sector and protect the rights of pilgrims.
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