JAKARTA - The business of service provider for Umrah Travel Organizers (PPIU) and Special Hajj Organizers (PIHK) is considered very potential, in line with Indonesia's position as the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, the passing of the Covid-19 vaccination, the opening of the pilgrimage for pilgrims outside Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia's plan to increase the quota for Umrah pilgrims from 8 million to 30 million per year by 2030.
This business includes accommodation services (hotels), airline tickets, land arrangements (LA) for all Hajj and Umrah needs in the Holy Land, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
“The Hajj and Umrah travel service provider business has great potential. The needs of pilgrims who come from various countries to the Holy Land are almost non-stop throughout the year," said Saipul Bahri, president director of PT Arsy BuanaTravelindo (ABT), in a statement, in Jakarta, Monday (24/5).
According to him, Indonesia's total Muslim population reaches 215 million or 87% of the population and 24% of the world's total. Every year, under normal conditions, as many as 221,000 pilgrims from Indonesia go to Saudi Arabia. Of that number, as many as 204 thousand are regular Hajj and the remaining 17 thousand are VIP Hajj.
The number of Hajj registrants, he said, continues to increase from year to year, so the queue length continues to grow. Based on data from the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag), the longest queue experienced by prospective pilgrims in South Kalimantan was 34 years, while the shortest was Maluku, 12 years.
Currently, he said, there are more than 323 PIHK and 1,016 PPIU. They are business partners of Hajj and Umrah Supporting service companies such as ABT.
He added that Saudi Arabia had closed the Hajj and Umrah in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this year, Saudi Arabia has opened the pilgrimage from abroad this year, with a number of requirements, one of which is the Covid-19 vaccination. This, he said, would usually be followed by the reopening of the Umrah service.
In addition, he said, Saudi Arabia has an agenda to spur the tourism sector, in addition to crude oil. The vision and target for Umrah/pilgrims was also raised to 30 million by 2030. This is a strong foundation for the Hajj and Umrah services provider business to continue to grow.
Based on data from the Muslim Association of Hajj and Umrah Organizers of the Republic of Indonesia (Amphuri), the number of Umrah pilgrims from Indonesia reached 948 thousand in 2018-2019 or 1440 Hijri from a total of 4.4 million pilgrims. Indonesia is in the second position as a contributor to Umrah pilgrims with a contribution of 21.44%, behind Pakistan. Currently, there are around 100,000 candidates for delayed Umrah pilgrims from Indonesia.
Seeing this potential, ABT, he said, is ready to become a service provider company to support Umrah and Hajj Travel Organizers. Currently, ABT has secured contract commitments from several hotels in the holy land, three hotels are in the city of Mecca and two hotels in the city of Medina, which are in strategic locations, including Le Meridien, Elaf Mashaer, Fajr Badee, Mawadah Sofwa, and Sham. Provinces. The total available rooms reach 889 per month.
In the ticket business, he explained, ABT will cooperate with Citilink and Ettihad. As for the provision of Land Arrangement (LA) services while in the holy land, ABT has several years of experience and has a strong local network, including its facilities.
Several big names in the PIHK and PPIU sectors, he said, became ABT's partners. Call it Madinah Iman Wisata, Sarana Umrah Haji, Satriani, Bastour, El Amien Tours, Forum Travel Partner Indonesia, Al Razafa Group, and Paksi Tours and Travel. (*)
