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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Culture & Society

Hajj Pilgrimage Costs Likely to Rise Next Year

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • The cost of organizing the Hajj pilgrimage is likely to increase next year due to rising prices and taxes in Saudi Arabia.
  • Indonesian officials are exploring ways to reduce costs, such as potentially consolidating flights with a single airline.
  • Challenges remain in managing Hajj services, including hotel quality disparities and crowd control in Mina, though overall service quality has improved.

The cost of organizing the Hajj pilgrimage is expected to rise next year, according to Marwan Dasopang, Chairman of Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives. He cited unavoidable increases in prices and taxes in Saudi Arabia as the primary drivers for this potential hike.

The increase in prices and taxes in Saudi Arabia cannot be avoided. So, it is highly likely that the cost of Hajj will increase.

— Marwan DasopangChairman of Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives explaining the potential rise in Hajj costs.

Despite the likelihood of increased costs, Commission VIII and the Ministry of Religious Affairs are committed to finding ways to mitigate the financial burden. Discussions are underway to identify budget items that can be reduced, with flight costs being a particular focus. Ideally, Hajj flights would be consolidated with a single airline, though current regulations require distribution among all carriers.

Further challenges include managing the quality of accommodation for pilgrims. There are concerns about disparities between regular and special Hajj pilgrims, with regular pilgrims in Medina reportedly receiving hotel accommodations that sometimes exceed the facilities offered to special pilgrims. This has led to some resentment among the special Hajj group.

There is jealousy from the special Hajj group because the quality of regular Hajj pilgrims' hotels in Medina is now in Ring 1, which sometimes surpasses the facilities of the special Hajj.

— Marwan DasopangExplaining accommodation disparities between regular and special Hajj pilgrims.

Crowd management in Mina also presents a significant challenge. The government is advised to formulate a robust policy for "tanazul," which refers to the arrangement of pilgrim departures or transfers, to ensure pilgrims are prepared for such measures. While the overall service for the 2026 Hajj operations, which concluded on July 1, has been deemed better than previous years, particularly for domestic services like visa processing, improvements are still needed in overseas services.

We need to ensure the readiness of pilgrims to carry out tanazul because the issue of density in Mina must be resolved immediately.

— Marwan DasopangSuggesting a need for better planning regarding pilgrim transfers to manage density in Mina.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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