Travel agents want Haj visa tax hike withdrawn

PESHAWAR: The travel agents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to ask the Saudi government to withdraw tax hike on Umrah and Haj visas.

Speaking at a press conference, the Travel Agents Association provincial Chairman Shamsher Ali said that the Saudi government had increased tax on Umrah and Haj visas from 650 to 2,650 riyals.

Flanked by office-bearers of the association, he said the increase in tax would deprive millions of people of performing Haj.

He said that every year 1.2 million Pakistanis performed Umrah while tens of thousands of people performed Haj. He said at least 40 percent people would be deprived of performing Haj and Umrah if the tax was not withdrawn.

He maintained that Egypt and Iran had already rejected the decision of Saudi government about increase in visa tax. The tax would also affect the business of the airlines, he added.

The travel agent said the decision would cause huge loss to economy and added the tax increase would also hit the Saudi economy as the number of pilgrims would also drop, which would cause loss to the hoteliers, vendors, shopkeepers in the kingdom.

Criticising federal government for its weak foreign policy, Shamsher Ali said the country had no foreign minister and that was why the country was facing problems.

He added that Nawaz Sharif had personal relations with Saudis so he should take up the issue with them.