MADINAH — Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al-Rabiah held a series of meetings with representatives of countries, official delegations, and local and international entities and companies involved in the Umrah and visitation ecosystem. These meetings were held on the sidelines of the third edition of the Umrah and Ziyarah Forum, held at the King Salman International Convention Center in Madinah, with broad participation from decision-makers and Umrah service providers.
During his meetings with country representatives, the minister affirmed that the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman emphasized exerting all efforts and delivering high-quality services to care for the Two Holy Mosques and their visitors, in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
The meetings reviewed ways to enhance joint cooperation to improve and develop service quality, address operational challenges, and coordinate efforts between the Kingdom and all countries to facilitate arrival procedures.
He also stressed the Kingdom’s commitment to building strategic partnerships with various countries to strengthen integration across services and elevate coordination in areas such as transportation, visas, awareness, and digital services.
In the same context, the minister met with representatives of Saudi Umrah companies to align operational priorities and directions, discuss field challenges and proposed solutions to improve performance, enhance service quality, and improve the experience of Umrah pilgrims and visitors, as well as strengthen communication channels and ongoing coordination.
Al-Rabiah also met with international Umrah agents, during which discussions focused on enhancing communication and reinforcing the Umrah and Ziyarah Forum as a platform bringing together all relevant stakeholders locally and internationally, aligning policies and operational priorities, addressing market developments, and strengthening cooperation to benefit from organizers’ insights in improving services and the Umrah experience.
As part of efforts to enhance digital integration in the travel experience, the minister met with representatives of global online travel agencies to align digital distribution and operational models, develop direct connectivity and data exchange channels, and strengthen digital integration between the ministry and travel platforms.
The discussions also addressed integration with the “Masar” platform to improve booking management, pricing, and overall experience, while reinforcing the forum’s role as an official platform and leveraging platform insights to advance digital transformation in the sector.
Source: Saudi Gazette