Minimum price of private Hajj travel packages set at Tk 463,744

Privately-run Hajj travel agencies have set the minimum price for this year’s pilgrimage package at Tk 463,744 per person.

The decision was announced by M Shahadat Hossain Taslim, president of the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh, or HAAB, at a press conference in Dhaka on Thursday.

The Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia will begin around Jul 8, with the exact date subject to the appearance of the moon.

This year, 57,585 pilgrims from Bangladesh will be able to make the journey. Of them, 4,000 will be able to do so through a package trip offered by the government, while the rest will travel through private agencies.

Private agencies are offering the minimum rate under the ‘standard package’, said HAAB President Shahadat.

Each agency will also have the opportunity to provide other special packages, but they cannot be priced lower than the minimum set.

Under the standard package, accommodation will be arranged for pilgrims within 1,000-1,500 metres from the outer boundary of the Haram Sharif, also known as the Great Mosque of Makkah, Shahadat said.

If Saudi Arabia imposes any additional fees, Hajj pilgrims will have to pay that on top of the standard cost for the packages.

Each pilgrim will have to take Tk 19,683 equivalent to 410 riyals with themselves to pay for the qurbani or animal sacrificing ritual, he said.

On Wednesday, the government announced the Hajj packages for this year.

The government’s package-1 plan will cost Tk 527,340, while package-2 will cost Tk 462,150.

The price of private Hajj packages should be set between the government rates and the minimum private rate, according to the rules.

The last time Bangladeshi Muslims were able to make the trip was in 2019. In 2020, the government announced travel packages as well, but trips were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bangladesh cannot start sending Hajj travellers to Saudi Arabia before May 31, so the HAAB official demanded the flights take off from Jun 10.