Hajj packages: Five-star packages for five-star pilgrims
Some people spend as much as Rs3.4m on Hajj, equivalent to the annual income of 38 minimum wagers.
KARACHI:
For those who can afford it, there are day-long buffets and private washrooms in the tent city of Mina – and many Pakistanis can. Travel agents say the number of people travelling on “luxury Hajj packages” is increasing every year.
Some people spend as much as Rs3.4 million to comfortably perform religious rites, an amount equivalent to the annual income of 38 minimum wagers, they said. “Politicians, senior government officials and people associated with the showbiz industry are the primary clientele for luxury Hajj packages,” said Gerry’s sales manager Zeeshan Nadeem. “There is no dearth of such people.”
This year, 160,000 Pakistanis are performing Hajj, half of them through private tour operators. There are no official statistics available, but interviews with different travel agents suggest that at least 600 people spend between Rs1.2 million and Rs3.4 million for Hajj.
In the most expensive package, pilgrims get accommodation in tents right in front of Jamarat, (where the ritual of stoning the devil takes place), said Nadeem Sharif, from Aroma Travel. “The tents have every facility, including private washrooms and day-long buffets.” People who avail expensive Hajj packages travel on the last flight, which leaves on October 31. This could cost anything between Rs1 million and Rs1.2 million, he said.
The fifth and final day of Hajj falls on November 8 and pilgrims travelling on the luxury package will be back to Madina eight days after that for their return flights to Pakistan. “I can easily say that 12,000 people will be travelling on the package,” Sharif said.
However, pilgrims performing Hajj on government quota have to start leaving for Saudi Arabia in early October. They spend more than a month in the country, until late November.
People who travel on cheap packages always complain of poor facilities during their stay in Makkah. Most of the time transport is not available. “Often more that 15 pilgrims are made to share one room with one toilet,” Sharif said.
Since last year, celebrities have started publicising their own groups, which have an extra fee.
“The most sacred pilgrimage has become most commercial in recent years,” said travel agent Yahya Polani. “People boast about the facilities they can afford.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2011.
For those who can afford it, there are day-long buffets and private washrooms in the tent city of Mina – and many Pakistanis can. Travel agents say the number of people travelling on “luxury Hajj packages” is increasing every year.
Some people spend as much as Rs3.4 million to comfortably perform religious rites, an amount equivalent to the annual income of 38 minimum wagers, they said. “Politicians, senior government officials and people associated with the showbiz industry are the primary clientele for luxury Hajj packages,” said Gerry’s sales manager Zeeshan Nadeem. “There is no dearth of such people.”
This year, 160,000 Pakistanis are performing Hajj, half of them through private tour operators. There are no official statistics available, but interviews with different travel agents suggest that at least 600 people spend between Rs1.2 million and Rs3.4 million for Hajj.
In the most expensive package, pilgrims get accommodation in tents right in front of Jamarat, (where the ritual of stoning the devil takes place), said Nadeem Sharif, from Aroma Travel. “The tents have every facility, including private washrooms and day-long buffets.” People who avail expensive Hajj packages travel on the last flight, which leaves on October 31. This could cost anything between Rs1 million and Rs1.2 million, he said.
The fifth and final day of Hajj falls on November 8 and pilgrims travelling on the luxury package will be back to Madina eight days after that for their return flights to Pakistan. “I can easily say that 12,000 people will be travelling on the package,” Sharif said.
However, pilgrims performing Hajj on government quota have to start leaving for Saudi Arabia in early October. They spend more than a month in the country, until late November.
People who travel on cheap packages always complain of poor facilities during their stay in Makkah. Most of the time transport is not available. “Often more that 15 pilgrims are made to share one room with one toilet,” Sharif said.
Since last year, celebrities have started publicising their own groups, which have an extra fee.
“The most sacred pilgrimage has become most commercial in recent years,” said travel agent Yahya Polani. “People boast about the facilities they can afford.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2011.