Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

British Muslim travel companies face going out of business following Saudi Hajj changes

Saudi government announced that pilgrims from Europe, the US and Australia could no longer book through travel agencies

British Muslim travel companies face going out of business following Saudi Hajj changes

BRITISH Muslim travel companies have complained that they are having a tough time after Saudi Arabia launched a new system for applying for the hajj pilgrimage, according to a report.

This month the Saudi government announced that pilgrims from Europe, the US and Australia could no longer book through travel agencies and would instead have to apply through a lottery system.


A highly reduced quota will permit a few thousand British Muslims to perform hajj this year, reported the Guardian.

The Saudi ministry of Hajj and Umrah also advised those with current bookings to “request refunds from tour operators/agents”.

According to the travel companies, the sudden change will force them to go out of business.

Saudi's move is to crack down on fraudulent firms weeks before the start of the pilgrimage to Mecca from 7 to 12 July. 

The hajj, an obligation for able-bodied Muslims, is one of the largest religious pilgrimages in the world and usually draws about 2 million people a year. The Council of British Hajjis charity estimates the UK’s hajj sector is worth about £200 million, according to the Guardian.

Since 2006 it has been compulsory to book hajj packages through licensed travel companies. Prospective pilgrims are now required to book through an online portal, Motawif, with successful applicants randomly selected by an automated lottery system.

They can then book accommodation and transport directly through the website. All travellers must be under 65 and vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Ilyas Master, 56, who has offered packages for hajj and the shorter umrah pilgrimage through his Atol-registered travel agency in Bradford for 15 years, said that they were nearly fully booked, but refunded most of the customers.

"We lost our money in Saudi Arabia, at least about £35,000. There is very little hope of recovering that," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Now the firm is looking into alternative income streams, including offering visa services.

It was reported that travellers are facing glitches with the new online portal.

“I checked the portal, and it said the booking had failed. But we received an official email confirming me that several family members had been selected and their visas were being processed," said Amal Ullah, from Nottingham, who spent more than 10 years’ worth of savings when she paid £40,000 for a hajj package for her family through Motawif. 

Several hajj applicants have shared their frustrations on Twitter using the hashtag #paidbutfailed.

Motawif’s Twitter account says package prices are on average 35 per cent less than market rates. But Ullah said the packages she bought rose close to £10,000 per person, with hotels about two miles from the main religious sites.

In 2020 there was an unprecedented reduction in Hajj pilgrims (to about 10,000 people) due to the pandemic. Last year’s hajj was limited to 60,000 vaccinated people, aged 18 to 65, from Saudi Arabia, with overseas pilgrims banned. Before the pandemic, about 25,000 Britons were making the pilgrimage annually.

People who booked with tour companies protected by the Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (Atol) should be issued a refund. But many British Muslim travel companies that received deposits for flights in 2020 and deferred Hajj packages to this year because of the Covid pandemic have been left in financial limbo.

“These businesses probably still have tens of millions of pounds stuck in Saudi Arabia,” said Seán McLoughlin, a professor at the University of Leeds who interviewed hajj and umrah tour companies for the first independent report into the UK’s hajj industry, published in 2019.

The Saudi government said the process of applying for hajj would also be streamlined through e-visa services. It is unclear whether the system will also be used next year.

According to Motawif’s terms and conditions, the last date for granting visas to pilgrims from outside Saudi Arabia was Friday (24).

More For You

Rajnath Singh

The council that approved the initiation of procurement for arms and equipment is headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

India starts process to procure arms worth $12.31 billion

INDIA’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the initiation of procurement for arms and equipment worth $12.31 billion (£9.05 billion), the defence ministry said on Thursday.

The council is headed by India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk weather

Forecasts indicate that the weekend will be unsettled

Getty Images

Cooler conditions bring relief as UK heatwave ends

Key points

  • UK's second heatwave of 2025 ends with cooler temperatures setting in.
  • Tuesday recorded the year’s highest temperature at 34.7°C in London.
  • No return to heatwave conditions forecast for early July.
  • Showers expected in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, with drier weather ahead.

UK heatwave fades as cooler weather returns

Following a stretch of record-breaking heat, the UK has now entered a cooler phase, with no heatwave conditions forecast for the first half of July. This change comes after Tuesday became the hottest day of the year so far, with 34.7°C recorded in London’s St James’s Park.

However, the high temperatures that marked the start of July have now given way to more comfortable conditions. In many parts of the country, temperatures have dropped by more than 10°C, bringing relief from the extreme heat.

Keep ReadingShow less
Families slam Hancock's 'insulting' care home defence at Covid inquiry

Matt Hancock arrives ahead of his latest appearance before the Covid-19 Inquiry on July 02, 2025 in London, England.(Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Families slam Hancock's 'insulting' care home defence at Covid inquiry

BEREAVED families have condemned former health secretary Matt Hancock as "insulting" and "full of excuses" after he defended the controversial policy of moving untested hospital patients into care homes during the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Speaking at the Covid-19 inquiry on Wednesday (2), Hancock described the decision to discharge patients into care homes as "the least-worst decision" available at the time, despite the devastating death toll that followed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Getty

Starmer has said the NHS must 'reform or die' and promised changes that would control the rising costs of caring for an ageing population without increasing taxes. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Starmer outlines 10-year NHS reform strategy

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer will on Thursday launch a 10-year strategy aimed at fixing the National Health Service (NHS), which he said was in crisis. The plan seeks to ease the pressure on overstretched hospitals and shift care closer to people’s homes.

The NHS, which is publicly funded and state-run, has faced difficulties recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. It continues to experience annual winter pressures, repeated waves of industrial action, and a long backlog for elective treatments.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Reeves-Getty

Starmer and Reeves during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton, to mark the launch of the Government's Industrial Strategy on June 23, 2025 in Nuneaton. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Reeves ‘going nowhere’, says Starmer after tears in parliament

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer on Wednesday said that Chancellor Rachel Reeves would remain in her role for “a very long time to come”, after she appeared visibly upset in parliament as questions were raised about her future.

Reeves was seen with tears rolling down her face during Prime Minister’s Questions, after Starmer did not confirm whether she would remain chancellor until the next general election, expected in 2029.

Keep ReadingShow less