Umrah Travel Agencies Believe Access Closure Will Not Last Long

Illustration of the Grand Mosque. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Saudi Arabian government has decided to close access to the arrival of Umrah pilgrims from abroad to avoid the spread of the Corona virus or COVID-19. This policy was enforced from yesterday until an undetermined time.

However, Syam Resfiadi, Chairman of the Indonesian Hajj Umrah Organizing Committee (Sapuhi), believes that this will not last long, especially until the Hajj pilgrimage is past in June.

"It doesn't take months. April will take too long. At most two weeks. They will also suffer losses if this policy lasts too long," he said when contacted by VOI, Friday, February 28.

However, he admitted that the Arab Government's decision was considered to have an impact on the domestic economy. In particular, he said, the umrah travel agency sector.

Syam Resfiadi said that the impact was very big on the Umrah travel agency. If calculated the losses due to this policy reached IDR 2.2 trillion per month.

"If we look at the last five months of each month, there are 110 thousand of our Umrah pilgrims who depart. If we calculate the standard of the Ministry of Religion, the cost of one person is Rp. 20 million, the total loss per month is multiplied by the number of congregations. Up to Rp. 2.2 trillion," he said. .

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Travel Companies (Asita), Nunung Rusmiati, said that his party is currently still recording the number of congregants who have ordered and then canceled after the Saudi Arabian government policy.

"Frankly, the losses have not been discovered. But this is very detrimental. Because for the congregation candidates who want to register, they think first. We cannot tell you the amount of the loss, because this is sudden," he said.

However, Rusmiati admitted, since the COVID-19 virus broke out, there has been a decline in booking tourist tickets and Umrah worship packages. "It is felt (the impact). Usually every day many people ask about Umrah, but now the prospective congregation will see the continuation of this (the development of the virus and the policies of the Saudi Arabian government)," he explained.

"We are also working on rescheduling for the Umrah pilgrims who cannot leave until the policy is revoked," he continued.

Executive Director of the Institute of Development for Economics and Finance (INDEF) Tauhid Ahmad also said the same thing. According to him, closing access for Umrah pilgrims from outside Saudi Arabia will have an impact on the Indonesian economy.

However, Tauhid did not deny the temporary stop was to maintain the health of the congregation so as not to be infected with the COVID-19 virus.

"This (corona virus) is a force majeure incident, extraordinary. We can't avoid it because the goal is to prevent Indonesian congregation from this disease. However, the impact on the economy is definitely big considering that there are so many umrah enthusiasts in Indonesia," he said at the INDEF office, Thursday, February 27th.

Tauhid said, the sector most affected, namely transportation, especially flights and cargo to and from Saudi Arabia, would definitely decrease drastically. Because, for Umrah, the airline flies the congregation all year round. Unlike the hajj that occurs in one period.

According to Tauhid, the reduction of the congregation quota will be felt by domestic airlines and foreign airlines. In addition, travel agent income for Umrah will definitely decrease drastically. This includes other subsectors, for example hotels, restaurants, or supporting services that become partners for travel agencies.

Approach with the Saudi Arabian Authority

Deputy Chairperson of Commission VIII Ace Hasan Syadzily said the Indonesian government must approach the authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding the policy of temporarily stopping prospective Umrah pilgrims due to the COVID-19 virus.

Ace said, until now Indonesia has not been positive for COVID-19. On this basis, he said, could become the basis for the government to negotiate with the Saudi Arabian authorities.

"I really want countries that are not positively exposed to the corona virus to be given the opportunity to be able to enter Saudi Arabia," he said.

In addition, Ace continued, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can ask each country to carry out health screening in their respective countries to identify whether they are infected or not. If infected do not leave.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must also carry out medical checks at its airport. If there is a suspect, of course he cannot enter.

"This may be an offer that the Indonesian government can make to the authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Thus, the Indonesian Umrah congregation can still carry out the Umrah pilgrimage," he said.