Licenses of 36 Egyptian travel agencies permanently revoked due to unregistered pilgrims crisis

CAIRO – 27 August 2024: Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy issued a decree Tuesday revoking the licenses of 36 travel agencies that sent Egyptians for pilgrimage in an unofficial way through tourism visas to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia instead of others dedicated to that purpose, incurring their lack of access to necessary services, and as a consequence, the death of dozens.

The decree is an outcome of the investigation conducted by the task force formed in June to identify the reasons behind the crisis. In the same month, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli issued a decree to suspend the licenses of 16 travel agencies upon a primary probe.

This year, over 1,000 pilgrims lost their lives during pilgrimage, including more than 600 Egyptians, mainly due to extreme heat. On the other hand, the data released by the Cabinet indicated that Egypt's share was 50,752 pilgrims; of whom, 31 passed away due to pre-existing chronic illnesses that affected them while performing the already strenuous rituals.