HIBAPRESS – Rabat
Complaints circulating about Moroccan pilgrims being subjected to serious disruptions during Umrah trips have sparked a wave of concern among families, against the backdrop of what has been described as violations affecting the terms of contracts and the quality of services provided by some travel agencies, and the accompanying suffering inside airports and unjustified delays in travel dates.
In this context, Ali Chtour, President of the Moroccan Association for the Defense of Consumer Rights, explained in a statement to the "HIBAPRESS" electronic newspaper, that a number of pilgrims were subjected to unacceptable practices by some agencies, including non-compliance with the agreed-upon travel schedule, and poor quality of accommodation and transportation.
Chtour, a member of the Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights, added that these practices also included "changing flight dates without prior notice, which resulted in pilgrims staying for long hours inside airports waiting for what he described as boredom, without providing any serious clarifications from the agencies concerned."
Chtour stressed that these actions represent a direct infringement on consumer rights, and contradict the principle of the contract being the law of the contracting parties, and also constitute a clear violation of the provisions of the law relating to consumer protection, especially what it stipulates regarding the right to clear and accurate information, respect for contract terms, and ensuring physical and moral safety, and preventing all forms of deception or misleading.
The speaker pointed out that the seriousness of these disruptions is multiplied when it comes to pilgrims, given that a large number of them are elderly, whose health and social conditions require special care and continuous accompaniment from the moment of departure until the return, in a way that ensures the performance of rituals under conditions that preserve dignity and take into account human specificities.
Chtour held some travel agencies fully legally and morally responsible for these practices, calling on the Ministry of Tourism and the supervisory authorities to intervene urgently in order to tighten monitoring and activate deterrent mechanisms against any agency proven to be involved in violating its contractual obligations.
The President of the Moroccan Association for the Defense of Consumer Rights also stressed the need to implement the principle of linking responsibility to accountability in order to protect the rights of pilgrims and preserve the reputation of a sector that is supposed to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and responsibility, especially its association with religious occasions with a deep spiritual and human dimension.
Chtour called in his concluding statement on all pilgrims to exercise caution and caution by dealing exclusively with licensed and legal agencies, and carefully reviewing the contracts concluded and keeping copies thereof, in addition to inquiring in advance about the reputation of the agency and the quality of its services to avoid any potential problems.
