HTOA urge SL Hajj pilgrim aspirants to secure their spots early with payments

Hajj Tour Operators’ Association (HTOA) of Sri Lanka on Monday urged Sri Lankan pilgrims expecting to embark on the spiritual journey in 2025 to secure their spot early with necessary payments to ensure a hassle-free pilgrimage experience.

Al-haj A. C. B. M. Careem, President of Hajj Tour Operators’ Association of Sri Lanka, addressing the media said close to 50 percent of the pilgrims chosen to embark on the spiritual journey to Saudi Arabia this year have not paid the necessary monies so far.

He said Muslims, who are to perform Hajj this year, have been instructed by the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs (DMRCA) to get duly registered before 14 February.

However, Careem said it is important to pay as early as possible as the tour operators have to make numerous prior arrangements and make relevant payments to ensure a hassle-free pilgrimage experience.

Careem also issued a warning to all potential Hajj pilgrims about the dangers of booking with unlicensed travel companies, which every year sees individuals paying for travel arrangements that are sub-standard, or in the worst cases, non-existent.

He said there are 92 registered hajj travel operators in Sri Lanka for the 2025 pilgrimage.

Careem said that “The Government of Saudi Arabia has allocated 3,500 hajj quotas according to the proportion of Muslims in Sri Lanka.

He said the DMRCA has advised pilgrims embark on the pilgrimage to duly register themselves and those who fail to do so on time will be removed and those who are on the waiting list will be given that opportunity.

He also said unlike in some other countries where Muslims who have registered with respective authorities will have to wait on the waiting list for three or four years the Sri Lankan Muslims have no such issue.

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