The Saudi Ministry of Hajj recently announced that it will be increasing the space allocated for housing of pilgrims in Mina and Arafat during this year’s Hajj season, by a reasonable percentage of not more than 25 per cent compared to past years. This step follows the recent decision to reduce the number of pilgrims from each country by 20 per cent until the completion of the Mataf expansion project and other similar projects.
The Ministry further revealed that it received 7,500 online job applications for work during this year’s Hajj season and is willing to appoint a total of 500 employees by mid of this month. Given the recent industry developments, Elaf Group has launched a special bouquet of offerings and services for pilgrims this season, as part of its plans to promote the Hajj services industry. The offerings include price discounts on early booking in one of Elaf’s 11 hotels in Makkah Al Mukrama and Madina al-Munawara.
Ziyad Bin Mahfouz, President of Elaf Group, said: “Elaf Group and other Hajj and Ummrah service providers have played a great role in providing high-quality services to pilgrims and Ummrah performers, not to forget the Ministry’s efforts to keep an eye on their performance. The fruitful cooperation with the industry and the government entities has been instrumental to the success of Ummrah season, and we look forward to achieving similar success throughout the upcoming Hajj season.”
Bin Mahfouz further added that the Group has spared no efforts to promote this year’s Hajj season through the launch of exciting offerings to pilgrims, in line with government directives and the objectives of the Ministry of Hajj and other relevant entities.
For its part, Government bodies have laid down a well-defined scheme to shuttle pilgrims from their accommodations to Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro, while maintaining strict controls on operations and traffic to avoid congestion, which was the case in previous years. A specialized workshop was also launched in cooperation with relevant government entities and bodies to discuss transportation of pilgrims through Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro.
