MADINAH, Saudi Arabia, April 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bookme was acknowledged as a strategic companion by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for enabling prompt Umrah visa issuance in a first-of-its-kind initiative on the opening ceremony of the Umrah and Ziyarah Discussion board 2026.
The popularity displays Bookme’s function as an early contributor to the Ministry’s OTA Innovation Program, a strategic initiative aimed toward increasing world entry to Umrah companies via digital platforms. This system is being led beneath the course of His Excellency Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, Minister of Hajj and Umrah, and His Excellency Eng. Abdulmohsen bin Abdulrahman Al-Salem, Deputy Minister for Umrah Affairs.
The initiative was applied via a collaboration between Bookme, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, and Elm Firm, a key nationwide digital infrastructure supplier. As a part of this collaboration, Bookme has enabled direct Umrah visa issuance inside its platform, permitting Pakistani pilgrims to acquire visas via a totally digital course of.
What makes this breakthrough really transformative is that your complete course of is end-to-end automated and immediately built-in with the Saudi authorities’s official visa issuance methods. There isn’t any human intervention, no handbook processing, and no requirement for bodily documentation or in-person visits. The visa is issued via a totally digital, seamless, and real-time system, offering customers with a one-click expertise backed immediately by Saudi authorities.
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The answer was launched throughout the ultimate ten days of Ramadan 2026, throughout which Umrah visas have been issued via the platform.
Pakistan is among the largest supply markets for Umrah pilgrims globally. The introduction of direct digital visa issuance is anticipated to enhance entry, transparency, and effectivity for pilgrims, whereas supporting Saudi Arabia’s broader goal of digitizing pilgrimage companies beneath Imaginative and prescient 2030.
The service might be accessible via Bookme’s web site, cell purposes, and built-in companion platforms, together with banking and fintech purposes. The system is immediately built-in with Saudi authorities infrastructure and operates in actual time, eliminating the necessity for bodily visits, handbook documentation, or middleman processing.
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The popularity was formally introduced throughout the opening ceremony of the discussion board, the place Bookme’s Founder and CEO, Faizan Aslam, was referred to as on stage to obtain the acknowledgment. The ceremony came about within the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Governor of the Madinah Area, alongside senior management from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
Talking on the event, Faizan Aslam stated:
“This is a historic moment, not just for Bookme, but for Pakistan. We are deeply honored that this agreement was signed by His Excellency the Minister himself at the world’s most important annual Hajj and Umrah gathering. This partnership will fundamentally change how Pakistani pilgrims access Umrah by making the process instant, direct, and completely frictionless. Most importantly, it is powered by a fully automated system directly integrated with Saudi authorities. This is only the beginning, and several additional initiatives are already in the pipeline as part of this long-term collaboration.”
By enabling direct, absolutely digital visa issuance inside its platform, the initiative is anticipated to considerably scale back reliance on intermediaries, reducing total prices for customers whereas growing transparency. Pilgrims will acquire better flexibility and management over their journey, with the power to select from a variety of choices together with 1000’s of accommodations, excursions, and Ziyarah experiences, all out there at direct, market-driven pricing. This mannequin permits customers to customise their journey based on particular person preferences, shifting away from inflexible, bundled packages towards a extra open and user-centric strategy to Umrah planning.
Bookme operates throughout 5 markets and has expanded its regional presence as a part of Pakistan’s broader expertise export initiatives. The corporate’s entry into Saudi Arabia was supported via the Particular Funding Facilitation Council (SIFC) beneath its enterprise enlargement initiative, which included Bookme’s participation within the Pakistan IT Minister’s delegation to Saudi Arabia in 2023. Since then, Bookme has established a number of strategic partnerships inside the Kingdom. The corporate continues to function a web-based journey company companion for the Saudi Tourism Authority, supporting its efforts to advertise tourism and improve accessibility for the Pakistani market.
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