Gambia’s Lands and Religious Affairs Minister, Hamat Bah has indicated that the government does not plan to increase Hajj pilgrimage fees for the upcoming year.
Speaking to the National Assembly and the National Hajj Commission, he emphasised that there is “no justification” for a price increase, even though the final decision on the cost has yet to be made.
Gambia’s Hajj package prices, which ranged from D498,000 to D531,000 last year, are among the highest in West Africa, raising concerns that these costs restrict all but the wealthiest Gambians from undertaking the pilgrimage.
Minister Bah mentioned that some travel agencies attribute the high fees to exchange rate fluctuations.
However, he argued that there is no significant depreciation to justify this claim; the dollar rate only rose slightly from D68-69 to D71-72, and accommodation costs in Mina have actually decreased. “We cannot be held hostage by operators who believe that they can do whatever they want,” he warned.
In addition to cost concerns, Minister Bah also promised to improve accommodations for Gambian pilgrims. Currently, Gambian pilgrims are dispersed across multiple hotels in Saudi Arabia.
Bah pledged to address this by coordinating with the Hajj Commission to ensure that all Gambian pilgrims are housed in a single area, noting that even larger nations like Nigeria manage to keep their pilgrims in unified accommodations.
The minister also criticised certain agencies for acting independently of the Hajj Commission’s guidelines. He noted that some agencies have already signed hotel contracts in Saudi Arabia for 2025 without securing their operational licenses.
Bah warned that all agencies must comply with the commission’s guidelines or risk losing their operating licenses, reinforcing that the government seeks to make the Hajj experience more affordable and manageable for all Gambians.
