Saudi government creates two digital platforms to share Hajj 2017 updates

Source: SaudiWelcomesTheWorld website. SaudiWelcomesTheWorld.org conveys a message of compassion and inclusion to the entire world.

The Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI), KSA has launched two digital platforms in the lead-up to the Hajj this year.

Both sites will provide information and insights to pilgrims in Makkah, worldwide audiences and local and international media.

SaudiWelcomesTheWorld.org conveys a message of compassion and inclusion to the world. It tells the stories of the millions of pilgrims of every ethnicity, race, colour, and culture, who undertake the pilgrimage. The platform provides an open window onto their journeys and invites the world to learn and share in the values of Islam. The complementary Hajj2017 portal for media provides information, updates and news about Hajj 2017. 

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and comprises a journey to Makkah to perform religious rituals described in the Quran. Every adult Muslim is obligated to make the pilgrimage at least once in their lives provided that they are physically and financially able.

To date more than 1.5 million pilgrims have already arrived in KSA with another 500,000 expected. The Hajj starts on August 30 and ends on September 4 this year.

Hashtag: #SaudiWelcomesTheWorld

Emirates rolls out Arabic mobile site

Emirates has launched an Arabic version of its mobile site. Customers using the Emirates mobile site in any language can book flights, check in online, upgrade their class of travel, as well as view and download Apple Passbook boarding passes to their smartphone.

The Arabic mobile platform has been rolled out simultaneously across 15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa including the UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco and Sudan, among others.

Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Centre for Emirates said: “Mobile device penetration in the Middle East and North Africa is steadily growing and we have been seeing strong usage on emirates.com from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Lebanon. In fact, almost two million people access emirates.com from those countries each month, and almost half of them access our site through their mobile devices. We saw a clear need for an Arabic mobile site which would allow us to significantly improve the customer experience.”

Earlier this year, after the overwhelming popularity of the Emirates App for iPhone, the airline extended its mobile App for the Android platform to serve its customers who use Android enabled devices. Emirates was also the first airline in the Middle East to launch an App for Apple Watch in April.