• ‘We don’t joke with service delivery’
The Chief Executive Officer of Al-Hatyq Travels and Tours, Alhaji Dr. Mutiu Adewale Badmus, has disclosed that Nigerian celebrities choose his travel agency for hajj and umrah due to the quality of services rendered, adding his organisation doesn’t joke with service delivery.
Muslim News reports that Al-Hatyq Travels and Tours went to Hajj 2023 with a number of Nigerian celebrities, including Alhaja Meenah Aigbe, a popular Yoruba actress who recently embraced Islam and her husband, Alhaji Kazeem Adeoti, a film producer.
Others were Alhaja Aanatallah Kemi Afolabi, Alhaja Habeebah Kemi Korede, both of whom are also Yoruba movies stars.
In an interview with Muslim News in Makkah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, the CEO, Al-Hatyq Travels and Tours narrated how his budding travel agency started in 2017.
The agency, under the management of Dr. Mutiu Badmus, currently has branches spread across Ikeja and Epe in Lagos State; Ilorin, Kwara State; Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State and Ibadan, Oyo State.
Dr. Badmus boasts more than 20 years of experience in travel and tours. He rose to the position of General Manager, Operations at a travel agency before founding Al-Hatyq Travels and Tours.
According to him, “I used to be General Manager, Operations for a well-known travel agency in Nigeria. I worked with them for about 20 years. I was like the main man. You know what operations imply. I started in February 2002. That was when I ventured into the travel industry, although I studied Physics.
“As General Manager, Operations for the travel agency, I had cause to work with some hajj and umrah agents. They come to us to buy tickets. We realised the major challenge for such agents was ticket. So, in my capacity and as a Muslim, I was supporting the travel agency. I rose through the ranks to become General Manager. That’s about the peak.
“In 2020, I thought I had already paid my dues. But even before then, as General Manager, I had already started my own hajj and umrah agency named Al-Hatyq. It was only for hajj and umrah then. That started in 2017. Our first hajj was in 2018. We did umrah in February 2018. That was our first trip out of Nigeria. Due to conflict of interests as General Manager of a travel agency which meant that I could not fully support Al-Hatyq and coupled with the fact that I thought I had paid my dues, I resigned and fully moved to oversee Al-Hatyq Travels and Tours. That was in 2020.”
The CEO noted how COVID-19 between 2020 and 2021 affected their operations at Al-Hatyq, adding, however, that they utilised the period to participate actively in campaigns for the prevention and control of the pandemic in Nigeria.
He said the challenge thrown by COVID-19 and the consequent ban on hajj for two years inspired him to float a subsidiary company in charge of other travels different from hajj and umrah because according to him Al-Hatyq was solely established for hajj and umrah services, including Jerusalem.
“Unfortunately for us, shortly after I left my job as General Manager, COVID-19 came. We were not able to do much. Everybody knows what happened during the pandemic. No operation, no hajj or umrah. In fact, the last umrah that was done in 2020, I was part of it. But immediately after, in March, lockdown began. We couldn’t do anything again. Everyone was just supporting government policies on COVID-19 including lockdown. We were also part of the campaign then at Al-Hatyq.
“For me, I came from a corporate travel agency, so I felt we shouldn’t limit ourselves to only hajj and umrah; though Al-Hatyq was established just for hajj, umrah and Jerusalem (spiritual travels). I felt we needed to do something corporate. And that was what birthed Free Fly Travel Management. It’s a subsidiary company responsible for all other travels.
“In 2021, no hajj. In 2022, the ban was lifted. However, we were able to do umrah in 2021, 2022 and 2023. We had a background in ticketing. So you cannot compare us with other hajj and umrah agencies. The major challenge they face is on ticketing. We issue tickets for many hajj and umrah agents. We have the requirements. So that made it easy for us.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, our operations were grounded. We couldn’t do much, but we still embarked on some activities including campaigns to support government efforts against the deadly virus. For us, it’s not only about making money, it’s also about supporting our government.”
Alhaji Mutiu Badmus said Al-Hatyq has its eyes on service delivery, saying it’s what attracts celebrities to patronise the travel agency.
Speaking on his dream for Al-Hatyq in the next five years, the travels and tours operator said he wants his company to serve 50 percent of intending pilgrims.
“A lot of people call us celebrity travel agency because we have so many celebrities who choose to go to hajj with us. Last year, many of them followed our agency. This year too, even for umrah.
“Fortunately for us, this year, Hajiah Meenah Aigbe along with her husband Alhaji Kazeem Adeoti came with us for hajj. We also had the likes of Alhaja Aanatallah Kemi Afolabi, Alhaja Habeebah Kemi Korede, among others. We had a lot of popular persons not only in the film industry who came with us.
“One thing I think attracted them to us is the kind of services we render. If you go on our social media pages, you’ll find a lot of positive feedback and ratings on us by people. We take service delivery as very important. We don’t joke with our clients. We ensure they get all they paid for. We also take them to all the important places they are supposed to visit. Those are the things for which we pride ourselves, and we ensure we keep to our service deliveries.
“Every aspect of travel is under our purview. We do ticketing ourselves. We have branches in Ikeja, Epe, Ibadan, Ilorin, Ado-Ekiti and so on. My dream in the next five years for Al-Hatyq is to be responsible for 50 percent of people coming for hajj. I know it’s a big dream, but it’s achievable. Whether ticketing or whatever, 50 percent of people going to hajj should pass through Al-Hatyq Travels and Tours. You may say I am greedy, but it’s something I dream about.”
