MyHotels receives official approval as an umrah travel agency

Saudi online travel agency MyHotels has received final approval from the KSA Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to serve as an official umrah travel agency.

MyHotels provides services such as accommodations; transportation; custom tours as well as umrah services.

Emad Alabbas, CEO, said that the company is investing in developing the infrastructure of the MyHotels to deliver speed while expanding partnerships with umrah hotels and transportation providers to offer discounts directly to partners via the MyHotels platform.

"This will (allow) our partners to avoid the stress of commissions targets and incentives policies, letting our partners focusing on their core business," he said.

MyHotels' umrah packages include:

B2C Umrah

Issues an immediate electronic umrah e-visa for individuals

Includes hotels in Makkah City and/or Madinah City

Includes transportation and ground services

Includes medical insurance from Saudi umrah operators.

B2B Umrah

Provides umrah booking services to Saudi umrah operators and their external agents by enabling them to book Makkah and Madinah hotels/accommodations, transportation/transfers

Generates an instant BRN ID so they can issue umrah visas for groups via access with the KSA Umrah Systems Services Center (MUKHA).

MyHotels was founded in KSA in 2016, and headquartered in Makkah.

World Halal Travel Summit 2015 expects to foster real progress in halal tourism and travel

The World Halal Travel Summit 2015 (WHTS15) will be the largest B2B gathering of global halal travel specialists ever assembled, say Cacti Events, the organiser. More than 200 toursim brands will be on show, according to the website.

Supported by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and taking place in Abu Dhabi at ADNEC from 19 to 21 October 2015, WHTS15 is expected to host 6,000 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) travel agents, hospitality groups, hoteliers, developers, investors and key decision makers from the halal tourism market.

The halal travel and tourism market is growing 100% faster than any other niche travel sector, and represents US$135 billion of outbound bookings. According to the WHTS15 website, forecasts are that it will grow to US$200 billion by 2020.

WHTS15 incorporates ITHMAR15, a conference focusing on tourism investment in the halal travel sector that aims to drive real impact. The conference covers five main milestones in investment:

• Trends & Opportunities 
• Funding, including business angel networks, venture capitalists, development banks 
• Government regulations, infrastructure and support
• Global public-private partnerships (PPPs) 
• Implementation 

An Investment Den segment will enable tourism entrepreneurs to pitch their projects to banks, business angels and investment professionals and bring funders and delegates together in 10-minute meetings.

Additionally, TURATH15 (HERITAGE15) will focus on the professionals driving cultural tourism experiences in Muslim-majority countries. TURATH-related exhibitors will be hosted in a dedicated area within the larger WHTS15 arena.

WHTS15 will also host The World Halal Travel Awards to celebrate best practices, service and distinction in the global international halal tourism sector. The results will be announced at a gala dinner at The Emirates Palace Ballroom, Abu Dhabi on 20 October.

Need background?

Read the Suroor Asia blog post about WHTS15

Register as a visitor

Enquire about exhibiting

CrescentRating launches travel aggregator for Muslim travel

CrescentRating has launched Muslim Travel Warehouse – a global B2B platform and travel aggregator offering Muslim-friendly tour packages.

In addition to search and booking capabilities on an extensive portfolio of packages, Muslim Travel Warehouse offers travel agents around the world a way to provide Muslim travellers with custom itineraries. All products available on the platform will be rated by CrescentRating's independent rating standard based on how well they cater to Muslim travellers.

The new platform will initially offer tour packages to 15 destinations, with more packages and destinations being added over the next 12 months. Muslim Travel Warehouse plans to work with destination management companies, tourism boards and ground operators from around the world to expand its portfolio.

Muslim Travel Warehouse will also provide a wide range of support services for its partners including a live travel trade helpdesk via the live chat service, detailed halal tourism information including fact sheets and digital brochures. For more information on Muslim Travel Warehouse please visit its website at:

"At CrescentRating we have been passionately exploring all opportunities not just to grow this segment, but incorporate all available technologies while doing so. It was a year or so ago when we realised that there was really a gap in the market for a global B2B platform for tour packages customised for the Muslim travel market. The enquiries we were getting through both our existing platforms CrescentRating and HalalTrip, encouraged us to start looking for a solution. That journey has now led us to launch the Muslim Travel Warehouse," explained Fazal Bahardeen, CEO, CrescentRating on the Muslim Travel Warehouse blog in late April.

"According to the latest figures we released in the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2015, the halal tourism sector was worth US$145 billion in 2014. This figure is predicted to grow to US$200 billion by 2020. Given that family travel contributes 52% of the entire total of the halal tourism sector, providing travel agencies with a full portfolio of Muslim friendly tour packages, excursions and activities will definitely help accelerate the growth of this sector."