The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the apprehension of 104 illegal entities involved in the sale of Hajj and Umrah programs in violation of the Egyptian Umrah Portal Law and the Hajj Regulation Law. This follows the deployment of extensive inspection committees to several governorates to identify offenders and unlicensed entities.
The ministry reported various advertisements on social media for organizing Hajj and Umrah programs, revealing that these entities were defrauding citizens, collecting substantial amounts of money, and providing substandard services.
Samiya Sami, the head of the Central Administration for Tourism Companies at the ministry, noted that these commissions were sent to various governorates, including Cairo, Alexandria, Giza, Dakahlia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Damietta, Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, and Sohag. She added that these efforts are part of a strategy to protect and regulate operations within Egypt's tourism industry, ensuring effective monitoring and oversight of various tourism activities, maintaining service quality for visitors, and safeguarding the rights of licensed tourism companies to support the national economy.
The ministry urged the public not to be swayed by the tourism programs of these unlicensed entities, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the rights and safety of all citizens and tourists to prevent fraud, as well as protecting the rights of licensed Egyptian tourism companies. Additionally, it confirmed that the Tourism and Antiquities Police Sector in the Ministry of Interior had been informed of the decisions to close the offices of the apprehended illegal entities, and that judicial rulings had been issued imposing heavy fines on the offenders.
