Thursday, January 23, 2025 Malaysia now mandates a over Fifty-six Thousand Dollars bank guarantee to boost travel safety. The president of the Malaysia Association Tour Agency (Mata), Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khalid Harun, emphasized that all travel agencies, particularly those organizing Umrah, must maintain a bank guarantee of RM250,000 ( $56,195.001).
This directive aligns with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s (Motac) new stipulation aimed at enhancing service quality and ensuring the well-being of pilgrims. Motac recently revealed that it is reassessing the regulatory requirements mandating this financial safeguard for Umrah operators. This bank guarantee, a stipulated part of the Tourism Industry Regulations under Act 482, is crucial for licensing reforms targeting outbound travel entities that arrange pilgrimage journeys.
In a related development, concerns were raised when 379 pilgrims, clients of a prominent Umrah provider, were left stranded, highlighting the necessity for these regulatory enhancements..
