Bangladesh is experiencing a significant decline in registration for Hajj this year, despite the government's attempts to reduce the cost of packages.
Due to financial constraints, a vast majority of the population cannot afford to embark on the journey this year. Therefore, out of the total quota of 127,000 granted to Bangladesh by Saudi Arabia for the 2024 Hajj season, only 47,773 prospective pilgrims have registered.
This year, Hajj is expected to start on June 14 and end on June 19. Registration in Bangladesh ended on January 18 — after the first deadline was extended twice following poor response from prospective pilgrims.
One of the most populous Muslim-majority countries, Bangladesh struggled to meet the Hajj quota granted by Saudi Arabia in 2023 amid skyrocketing prices of travel.
Several thousand prospective pilgrims could not go to perform the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
To prevent the same scenario during the 2024 pilgrimage season, the Bangladeshi government reduced by $1,000 the cost of Hajj packages.
The minimum government rate of Hajj from Bangladesh this year is $5,034 — a significant decrease compared with the minimum of $6,000 in 2023.
While last year Hajj tour operators indicated the main problems as high inflation and airfares to the Middle East, currently there are more factors at play, including concerns over political stability as Bangladesh’s recent general election was boycotted by the opposition and turned into one of the country’s most controversial polls.
Due to financial constraints, a vast majority of the population cannot afford to embark on the journey this year. Therefore, out of the total quota of 127,000 granted to Bangladesh by Saudi Arabia for the 2024 Hajj season, only 47,773 prospective pilgrims have registered.
This year, Hajj is expected to start on June 14 and end on June 19. Registration in Bangladesh ended on January 18 — after the first deadline was extended twice following poor response from prospective pilgrims.
One of the most populous Muslim-majority countries, Bangladesh struggled to meet the Hajj quota granted by Saudi Arabia in 2023 amid skyrocketing prices of travel.
Several thousand prospective pilgrims could not go to perform the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
To prevent the same scenario during the 2024 pilgrimage season, the Bangladeshi government reduced by $1,000 the cost of Hajj packages.
The minimum government rate of Hajj from Bangladesh this year is $5,034 — a significant decrease compared with the minimum of $6,000 in 2023.
While last year Hajj tour operators indicated the main problems as high inflation and airfares to the Middle East, currently there are more factors at play, including concerns over political stability as Bangladesh’s recent general election was boycotted by the opposition and turned into one of the country’s most controversial polls.
