Govt to regulate haj operators

Govt to regulate haj operators

JAKARTA: The government plans to issue a regulation governing
a special haj pilgrimage scheme (ONH plus) in a bid to protect
pilgrims from cowboy operators, an official said Thursday.

"The regulation is not meant to kill the business, but to
prevent the operators from failing to provide the services they
promised to the pilgrims," said Taufiq Kamil, Director General
for Public Education and Haj Pilgrimage Organization at the
Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The special scheme, he said, offered a stay in a hotel with
the minimum cost being US$3,500 for an entire package.

The regulation would require operators to submit documents on
hotel contracts, transportation and other services, as well as
the list of applicants for places on the haj pilgrimage before
the ministry issued the recommendation needed to obtain haj visas
from the Saudi Arabian embassy.

The hotels, Taufiq said, had to be located not more than 500
meters from the Mecca's Haram grand mosque.

The government announced that national flag-carrier Garuda and
Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA) had once again been chosen to carry
around 180,000 pilgrims next year. --JP