Existing challenges

Two challenges were identified to the current system. One was the increased integration of the Ministry of Interior, and the other was related to the development of the e-Umrah services. One further minor barrier was also identified by a minority of Umrah companies which related to developing and improving the Umrah fieldwork activities.

The Umrah companies encountered problems when the Ministry of Hajj assigned the Ministry of Interior the responsibility of recording the entry/exit movements. This was because of improper data entry on the Ministry of Interior’s behalf due to mistakes, errors and incorrect data entries by the Passport Department officers when they entered the Umrah visitors’ data. As a result of this failure to record data, the Umrah companies found that Umrah visitors could still remain in the system and count as negative cases against the company. This issue caused many challenges to the Umrah companies and put the companies at great risk. In some cases it led to the suspension of the companies from practicing Umrah services until they proved that the visitors had actually departed. One of the Umrah companies described this:

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‘The subject which concerns us most is those Umrah visitors who are recorded as non-departed in the Ministry of Interior’s system (passport/immigration offices at Saudi ports) and who have actually departed to their lands’ (Category(5), Company (8))

The Umrah companies thought that the problems might arise from the processes undertaken by the Passport Department officers. The Passport Department officers conduct certain manual processes, such as stamping Umrah visitors’ passports, then shift to electronically recording the Umrah visitors’ passport information in the Ministry of Interior’s system. This was perceived to be one of the issues causing problems. Also, these long manual processes conducted by the Passport Department were found to create errors and/or missing data since the Passport Department officers have enormous workloads and conduct these processes with hundreds or thousands of Umrah visitors during a day. One Umrah company reported:

The linkages need to be enhanced and further developed to reduce the problems associated with visitors’ entry and exit information. They should be scanned electronically rather than manually. These are ports’ problems and we wish to find solutions for all ports where the visitors get a stamp. This is the problem which has caused most of Umrah companies to be closed.’ (Category (5), Company (38))

Unlinked ports (passport offices) have other problematic issues which also relate to the Ministry of Interior and cause problems that relate to the entry-exit processes. The Umrah companies became aware of the mechanisms and procedures taken at air ports to find a method of solving this case. However, the more challenging issue which faces Umrah companies was the mechanism to solve the problem of failure to depart issues in land and sea ports. One Umrah company specified that:

‘The non departure cases in all Saudi ports, other than airports, are some of the challenges that we still face. We are used to knowing the mechanisms and solutions for airport cases. However the land ports still have no solution and we are struggling with this still’ (Category (5), Company (9))

Another Umrah company provided an example of those Umrah visitors who enter from one port and exit from a different port:

‘Not linking all the Saudi ports (land, air, sea) together in the system causes other challenging issues. The government proposes linking all these ports together under one system. For example a UAE visitor has entered Saudi by land and left the country to India by air or sea. In that case the

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passport/immigration office does not find his departure in the system because the Passport Department’s land system is not connected with the air or sea

systems. As a result they count this as non

departure/escape/disappearance/failure to leave the country case against the Umrah company’ (Category (5), Company (16))

It was emphasised that this problem stems from the fact that the process of checks is conducted manually. The Umrah companies usually submit official letters requiring pledges and proofs of departures which they obtain from the international travel agencies. These proofs are obtained by the international agencies personally contacting the Umrah visitors to seek a copy of their exiting stamps. Finally, the Umrah companies send the proofs, which contain the stamps along with the airline flight manifests to prove that the particular Umrah visitors have left the country by these flights, to the Ministry of Hajj. One Umrah company explained:

‘The failure to leave the country case is a problem. We suggest that the process be made fully electronic, even the proofs we submit for the Umrah visitors who did not depart. They should be submitted through the system, even the pledges, if they can be made electronic it would be better’ (Category (5), Company (15))

Another Umrah company gave an example of their experience in proving these cases and emphasised the difficulties caused by slow responses and processes from the Passport Department side. The service providers also agreed that this issue of exiting is one of the significant problems and still has incomplete processes and procedures which require consideration by the Ministries of Hajj and Interior. The Umrah company reported this:

‘First of all the problem of passport and immigration offices’ mistakes and errors are a barrier to the system. We had this year (2011) nearly 250 Umrah visitors who had failed to leave the country (non departure/escape/disappeared/lost) and have had problems with the Passport Department. We worked hard till we proved 100 cases but could not compete the procedures for the remaining 150 because of the routinely slow response and processes of the Passport Department.’ (Category (5), Company (16))

‘The major problem is those visitors who have actually left the country from a Saudi port but still exist in the system. You also have a problem with movements, as this stage in the system has incomplete processes and procedures and should be reconsidered and reorganised (they do not deal properly with cases such as when a visitor exits the country, or one goes into hospital, or has lost his/her passport). It might be that the Passport Department has internal problems such as inadequate staffing or they are untrained to work

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with technology, or they are not adopting or keeping pace with latest technologies to improve the work.’ (Category (11), Service provider (4))

The second major existing challenge which was reported by a majority of Umrah companies is the Umrah services. These issues relate to accommodation, transportation, operational plans and flight structures.

The accommodation problems rest with the classified and unclassified hotels.

The Ministry of Hajj is working along with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities to classify all the hotels in Makkah and Madinah. These hotels should meet safety and other standard conditions in order to be classified. The problem begins after Umrah companies have received the approval for their operational plans, but find that there is no accommodation for Umrah visitors because all available accommodation is occupied. They cannot use unclassified hotels to complete the Umrah visitors’ packages due to them not complying with the Ministry’s conditions, or they are still to be added to the e-Umrah system.

One Umrah company revealed that:

‘There are lots of unclassified hotels, and the system does not accept them.

For example the city of Madinah has only 40 classified hotels. So before the Ministry can impose the use of only classified hotels in the electronic system, given the massive number of visitors who come annually to Saudi, they should complete all the classifications of hotels. The system is still under development, and we, as Umrah companies, suffer as we are unable to make appropriate packages/programmes for our clients.’ (Category (5), Company (16))

Another Umrah company added:

‘Regarding the mechanism of hotel classification, you have 4 thousand classified hotels and 10 thousand unclassified, and the Ministry orders you to deal with the classified only. The classified hotels are few and can not cater for the number of visitors. If they can find solutions for this it will solve a significant problem’ (Category (5), Company (32))

The problem was also noted by a service provider:

‘There is a lack of capacity in the hotels of Makkah and Madinah which have been classified by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities. There are hotels, but they are not classified because it is necessary for each hotel to provide fire department licenses for security and safety. This problem still occurs. Makkah has only had 80 classified hotels and Madinah only 160 classified hotels and this is not enough.’ (Category (10), Service provider (4))

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Similar problems also occur where the capacity of the transportation does not match the number of Umrah visitors approved by the Ministry of Hajj. One Umrah company reported that:

‘The transportation companies should improve their services by increasing the number of their drivers and vehicles especially in seasons such as Ramadan. We have a vast amount of visitors and we need them to increase the capacity of the transportation to withstand them during that month. This service is not in the system and there are no categorisations or lists for transportation, which should be included in the system.’ (Category (5), Company (12))

Also, one of the Umrah companies indicated that the accommodation and transportation infrastructure is not included in the system’s base as services, and the Ministry of Hajj is advised to develop these more, because these two services are major, related services. The company stated that:

‘I believe the Ministry of Hajj should reconsider the hotel and transportation procedures and insert the services into the system’ (Category (5), Company (23))

Another problem related to transportation categories. The Ministry of Hajj did not improve the transportation services to an advanced level and this still requires further development. Also, the system only serves groups of visitors and lacks services for the individual, even though programmes are set up for individual Umrah visitors. One Umrah company revealed that these issues should be reconsidered in the design of the e-Umrah system and reported that:

‘The system is built to deal with groups not individuals. They should reconsider the design of systems to include and serve individual visitors as well.’ (Category (5), Company (5))

Another issue mentioned by some Umrah companies is not knowing the method of evaluation for approving or disapproving operational plans. The companies indicated that the Ministry usually assesses the prior performance of each company and decides whether they can approve or disapprove their request. The Umrah companies also mentioned that the assessment processes are unclear. After the Umrah companies receive a disapproval they begin working through the issues using a manual, paper-based process and by sending their representative to discuss the causes of their requests not being approved. Furthermore, it was perceived that this issue can cause a lack of transparency in the operational plans since the Umrah companies submit a

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request to the system and receive the result but the companies cannot interact through the system or receive comprehensive reports and evidence giving the reasons for not accepting their request. They often send their representatives to discuss the result personally with the Ministry of Hajj. These issues are major and perceived as problematic for Umrah services. One Umrah company gave a clear example of this problematic issue and reported that:

‘Another issue is the operational plan. You enter into the system every country you are involved with along with the number of Umrah visitors from each country, and you enter the international travel agents that you work with.

Then the Ministry reduces the number that is requested. So this is another case where we face problems where there should be a certain mechanism/procedure/process. We wish they would reconsider this case and its mechanism because after we receive the approved numbers of clients and we find out that this is not the number quoted then we send an official letter and the process turns into a paper-based procedure. There is no transparency in the giving and taking of this’ (Category (5), Company (16))

Flight services is another type of service which has been mentioned as problematic since it is not included in the system, and where the Ministry of Hajj should extend the e-Umrah system’s infrastructural base. The Umrah companies specified that flight information needs to be added to the system to enhance following up and supervision. It was also mentioned that the service providers should cooperate with the Ministry of Hajj and the airline sector to include flight services. This would enable the Umrah companies, when they set their package, to find all flight and airline details in the system, and enable them to offer faster services to their clients. One of the Umrah companies addressed this problematic issue clearly and reported that:

‘We also need schedules for the daily flights, to know the arrival flights and relate it to our groups that are coming in on these flights. This can be done by the service providers. The problem is that the flight information is inaccurate and as far as I know the service provider attempts to organise the flight schedules with the airlines but they do not receive a response. If the airline companies cooperate with the service providers and allow them to implement and update the airline companies’ daily schedules into the system, this will improve the system.’ (Category (5), Company (6))

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6.2. Dimension (2): Embeddedness (E)

6.2.1 Introduction

Embeddedness is the extent to which an infrastructure is embedded in other technologies, social arrangements, structures or services. It is where a set of services have emerged from, or have been incorporated within various larger environments. This same set of services may therefore be incorporated within the component structures of other involved entities. These different entities will be expected to have their own policies, processes and procedures which will govern the common services and contribute to creating the appropriate infrastructure arrangements and technologies. In addition, these different entities which have different policies and practices are expected to be integrated completely and not partially or manually, in order to be completely embedded.

In this context, the e-Umrah system is an infrastructure which has embedded within a network of other infrastructures (e.g. e-Umrah system infrastructure is part of a bigger infrastructure which connects through the Ministry of Hajj the following entities: Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Samba bank, and four service providers) which enable the e-Umrah system to provide useful services, tasks, operations and activities. Examples of such services include Umrah packages/programmes, visa issuances, e-payments, follow-up services, etc. These services are the result of heterogeneous systems, networks and policies of the Ministry of Hajj and the other entities. Thus, the embeddedness of entities and infrastructures within the e-Umrah system includes various procedures, arrangements, technologies and collaborations, which shape the e-Umrah system infrastructure and have a significant influence on the development or improvement of the e-Umrah system.

The analysis of this section considered five categories to increase the knowledge about e-Umrah system infrastructure. The five categories involve innovated system-current design, innovated system-dimension of design, innovated system current role/position of entities, innovated system playing part of entities in the overall bigger system, and the relations of activities and operations to e-Umrah system infrastructure. Hence, these five categories

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expanded on the definition of embeddedness which was proposed by Star and Ruhleder (1996).