Tourism Ministry denies expulsion of Algerian pilgrims from hotel in Mecca
BY/ Hana Saada
ALGIERS- The Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts denied, on Sunday, the information relayed on social networks on an alleged expulsion of Algerian pilgrims from a hotel in Mecca, dubbing it “unfounded” and the videos shared “false.”
“Following information relayed on social networks and certain media about the alleged expulsion of Algerian pilgrims from a hotel in Mecca, the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts stresses that this information is unfounded and the videos shared are misleading and do not concern Algerian pilgrims,” read a press release from the ministry.
To this end, the Ministry of Tourism called for “the veracity of any information before its publication or sharing via social networks so as not to mislead public opinion.”
After the investigations carried out by its services on the accommodation conditions of Algerian pilgrims in Mecca, precisely at the hotel cited, it turned out that “the latter did not encounter any difficulty during their stay, which proceeds normally.”
In addition, the ministry called on tourist agencies “to show professionalism towards their clients, especially as the hajj season approaches, the objective being to provide them with the best services and avoid possible sanctions due to any failure to fulfill their commitments to hajjis and pilgrims (Umra) in particular and tourists in general.”
