MAKKAH: The “Salik Al-Mashaer” platform is a testament to Umm Al-Qura University’s growing role in nurturing innovation and technological entrepreneurship.
By enabling startups to build transformative solutions tailored to the Hajj and Umrah ecosystem, the university is helping drive higher operational efficiency and shorter travel times between the holy sites, advancing the Kingdom's digital transformation agenda and its broader national vision of delivering a world-class experience for pilgrims.
Al-Amad, specializing in extended reality solutions for education and training, announced its participation in the Umrah and Visit Forum 2026, where it displayed its latest product, “Salek Al-Mashaer.” The virtual reality experience is designed to prepare pilgrims by simulating movement between the holy sites and enhancing their readiness to handle various conditions during the Hajj season.
Tareq Bukhait Al-Dafi, founder and CEO of Al-Amad
“We are moving the trainee from passive learning to a hands-on, interactive experience inside an environment that mirrors reality in every detail,” said Tareq Bukhait Al-Dafi, founder and CEO of Al-Amad, speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Umrah and Visit Forum 2026, where the product made its public debut.
Al-Dafi outlined two pillars at the heart of the platform: safe navigation between the holy sites, and emergency preparedness — covering scenarios ranging from crowd surges to full-scale evacuations. What the system offers pilgrims, he underlined, is something no briefing document or instructional video can replicate: the ability to train repeatedly, in a controlled environment, until confidence becomes instinct.
“Salik Al-Mashaer” supports sevral languages including Arabic, English, and Urdu, and includes features tailored for the hearing-impaired, a reflection, Al-Dafi said, of the company's commitment to serving every pilgrim regardless of background or ability.
The platform also incorporates learning data analytics, giving operators the ability to measure trainee performance and assess readiness levels before pilgrims reach the holy sites. “This contributes directly to improving the quality of services provided to the pilgrims,” Al-Dafi said.
The forum appearance, Al-Dafi said, generated significant interest from government and private sector stakeholders. Senior officials and industry experts engaged directly with the platform, moving beyond curiosity into substantive discussions about how “Salik Al-Mashaer” could be woven into existing pilgrim training frameworks.
Integrating the platform into the national Hajj training ecosystem would place it squarely within the ambitions of Vision 2030, a blueprint that has set explicit targets for expanding pilgrim capacity and raising the bar on the overall Hajj experience.
Al-Dafi confirmed that the company is working to use “Salik Al-Mashaer” across Hajj camps during the 1447 AH season in partnership with strategic allies, with ambitions to expand globally by making the experience available at pilgrim orientation centers in countries that send large numbers of Hajj delegations, ultimately helping to transform the preparedness and safety of pilgrims.
