December Networking Event - Connect & Elevate

Last Friday we carved out a little corner of London to celebrate and highlight the wonderful things being done to promote Halal tourism going into 2025 and beyond. Oxford Street played host to our December Networking event, hosted by our own Head of Events: Sadia Ramzan and featuring presentations from Emma Charlesworth of the Ras al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority and Sara Amro from Albatros Expeditions.

Firstly a big thank you to everyone who came to join us for the first time as well as those of you who have been friends of the Halal Travel Network for years. It is always amazing to see a room full of travel professionals sharing stories and sharing an interest in the possibilities of Halal tourism. For those of you who were not able to join us on this occasion, fret not! I thought that I would write a short blog to give you a taste on what you missed but ensure that you do not miss out on the opportunities that came with it.

First up to speak was yours truly and i spoke a little about the collaborative nature of the Halal Travel Network and how we aim to host these networking events, both online and in person in cities around the world throughout next year and beyond. Details for these will be available on this website as well as through our social media channels and we will be posting a little more in advance so that our members can save the dates and attend the events that are best suited to their interests.

Next, I introduced Emma Charlesworth (emma@raktda.com) from the Ras al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority and she gave a wonderful presentation about "The Nature Emirate", highlighting the many aspects of the region, ranging from heritage and culture, through to the diverse areas of outstanding natural beauty. She spoke about the family friendly elements of Marjan Island, her personal highlight of the Suwaidi Pearl Farm and the eyebrow-raising high-adrenaline Jebel Jais Zipline which is the longest zipline in the world! The videos and images that she shared really showcased the beauty of Ras al Khaimah and there was more than one query about a fam trip!

Our second speaker offered something completely different. Sara Amro (saa@albatros-expeditions.com) from Albatros Expeditions hosts wild and wonderful trips around the world but at this event she spoke to us about the first ever Halal cruise to Antarctica, scheduled to sail in January 2026. This is an epic example of how pioneers in our industry are seeing the potential of Halal tourism and are pushing the boundaries of what has been done in order to accommodate this. While Sara fooled no-one in trying to convince us that is isn't actually that cold in the Antarctic (we have all seen BBC documentaries Sara), she didn't have to stretch anyone's imagination to generate a lot of interest from within the room who were ready to kayak among the ice flows and set foot on the world's most southerly region. I mean, who doesn't love penguins?

After the presentations we continued our networking, with attendees given the chance to ask more questions of the presenters as well as making new contacts for themselves. It is always the sign of a good event when we run out of time but our attendees were engaging and networking right until the end, such was the depth of conversation. It was such a wonderful way to finish off 2024 and I want to thank everyone who made it possible; from our host Sadia and our amazing sponsors, through to each any every person who came out to support us and to find our more about Halal tourism. I hope that you found it to be as beneficial as I did and I look forward to seeing you again next year.