Khaberni - The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism has taken new measures to regulate the Umrah market, combat misleading advertisements and unauthorized entities, and has required tourism companies to notify the ministry before publishing any promotional advertisement for Umrah programs.
Walid Khalil, a member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Tourism Companies and a member of the Committee for Religious Tourism, stated that the new regulations for the Umrah season included, for the first time, obliging companies to notify the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of any advertisement related to Umrah programs before publishing it through media or social media platforms.
He explained that the procedure aims to enable the ministry to monitor the advertising content and detect any misleading information or violations that might affect citizens' decisions, emphasizing that the notification does not mean obtaining prior approval from the ministry for the advertisement.
In the context of tightening market oversight, the board of directors of the Chamber of Tourism Companies adopted a new regulation for forming a specialized committee to regulate the Umrah market, which will monitor advertisements and detect violations, in addition to confronting illegitimate entities, fictitious pages, and individuals promoting Umrah programs without legal status.
The measures aim to reduce the activity of unlicensed entities and prevent tourism companies from dealing with them, thus protecting citizens from falling victim to fictitious advertisements or programs that do not comply with the regulations.
The regulations also require tourism companies to include basic and clear information in their Umrah program advertisements, including the company's name, its license number, the name of the hotel, the means of travel, the price of the program, and flight ticket details, ensuring that citizens receive complete information before concluding a contract.
These measures come amid the spread of advertisements for Umrah programs on social media platforms, some of which involve unclear offers or incomplete data, in addition to the activity of unlicensed entities exploiting citizens' desire to perform Umrah rites to attract them to unapproved programs or to collect money without providing the agreed-upon service.
The Chamber of Tourism Companies confirmed that citizens who are exposed to misleading advertisements or violations related to Umrah programs can submit complaints to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which is the competent authority to examine these complaints and take the necessary legal actions.
