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HALAL TOURISM; A NEW GOLDMINE FOR TOURISM

GEETANJALI RAMESH CHANDRA

Assistant Professor, Amity University Dubai Campus, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

ABSTRACT

Halal tourism is a new product in the tourism industry market. This niche market offers a great prospective for

halal tourism. The world Muslim population has been growing swiftly across the world, thus, there is a need to develop

customizes halal Tourism products and services to cater to this vigorous sector. Muslims all around the world will travel

for their faith annually to pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina; it has been a trend for pilgrimage packages to include an

extended, to visit other religious places. Holiday Packages that compliance with the Sharia, like Halal airlines, Halal

Hotels. Halal food A room having a Qiblah pointing signage on the ceiling, a prayer rug or sajadah, a bidet or an arch

stretching somewhere in the room is considered authentically within the Islamic culture .Though Muslims Contributes to

one of the largest tourist markets in the world, Halal focused tourism professed significance has not been cleared to

Therefore, a framework to present an Halal perspective is required and to provide an overview of halal tourism market in

world .The concept is interesting but the market for it has to be identified. But in the absence of standardisation or

certification it’s become tough to come to main stream.

KEYWORDS: Halal Tourism, Jakim, Sharia, Ethical

INTRODUCTION

“Tourism is the study of man away from his usual habitat, of the industry, which responds to his needs, and of the

impacts that both he and the industry have on the host’s socio-cultural, economic, and physical environments”.1

“Any person residing within a country, irrespective of nationality, travelling to a place within this country other

than his usual place of residence for a period of not less than 24 hours or one night for a purpose other than the exercise of

a remunerated activity in the place visited. The motives for such travel may be (1) leisure (recreation, holidays, health,

studies, religion, sports); (2) business, family, mission, meeting”2

The concept of halal, meaning permissible in Arabic, is not just being applied to food, but it includes any Shari’ah

compliant products ranging from bank dealings to cosmetics, vaccines and in this case, tourism. This means offering tour

packages and destinations that are particularly designed to cater for Muslim considerations and address Muslim needs.3

As there is no specific definition of Halal tourism, it is mainly perceived as a tourism product providing

hospitality services that comply with Islamic Law. For example, Halal hotels do not serve alcoholic beverages, offer Halal

* LL.D. Assistant professor Amity University Dubai Campus 1Jafari, J. (1977). Editor’s Page. Annals of Tourism Research, 5(sp. issue), pp6-11. 2World Tourism Organisation (WTO). (1981). Tourism Multipliers Explained. Madrid: World Tourism Organisation and Horwarth and Horwarth 3http://halbase.com/articles/Halal%20Tourism.pdf

International Journal of Business Management & Research (IJBMR) ISSN(P): 2249-6920; ISSN(E): 2249-8036 Vol. 4, Issue 6, Dec 2014, 45-62 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

46 Geetanjali Ramesh Chandra

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.9926 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

certificates for food, wellness facilities for women, prayer rooms and, in general, a Muslim-friendly environment.4

Today, Muslims are consumer investors in the six silos of halal industry, and need to become financial investors

to control their ‘halal’ destiny. As a whole the Muslim consumer expenditure globally on food and lifestyle sectors -travel,

clothing, pharma/personal care, media/recreation- is estimated to be $1.62 trillion in 2012 by the 2103 State of the Global

Islamic Economy report (SGIE) by Dinar Standard and Thomson Reuters. The SGIE projects that the already-significant

expenditure is expected to reach $2.47 trillion by 2018.5

In terms of tourism, the report estimates global Muslim spending on travel (outbound) to be $137 billion in 2012

(excluding Hajj and Ummrah), and is expected to grow to $181 billion market by 2018 representing 12.5 % of global

expenditure. It should be noted that the collective global Muslim tourism market is bigger than the largest tourist-bound

country: the United States. The tie into halal medical and wellness tourism presents opportunities for countries to attract

medical tourists from the GCC.6

Source: ‘Halal Market and Strategy’ (2010), available at http://site.sirehimpian.com/main/3139/index.asp?pageid=113781

Figure 1: Shows the Different Sectors Halal Products are Made Available, with the Newly Added Halal Tourism

Halal tourism, or Muslim-friendly travelling, is set to grow to a multibillion dollar business over the coming years

based on rising attentiveness of tour operators towards the needs of Muslim tourists and the growing affluence of Muslims

in population-rich Islamic countries especially in Southeast Asia and China.7

According to the latest figures, the halal tourism sector was worth US $140 billion in 2013, representing around

4SaadKarim,“Halal Tourism: Way to Muslim-friendly Environment An Industry that Goes Mainstream”,February 13th 2014 5 “Investments In The Global Halal Industry: Exploring Faith-inspired Consumerism”,http://www.entrepreneurmiddleeast.com/investments-in-the-global-halal-industry-exploring-faith-inspired-consumerism/,July 8th 2014. 6 “Investments In The Global Halal Industry: Exploring Faith-inspired Consumerism”,http://www.entrepreneurmiddleeast.com/investments-in-the-global-halal-industry-exploring-faith-inspired-consumerism/,July 8th 2014. 7MaierbruggerArno,“Halal tourism is poised to become next big goldmine”http://www.gulf-times.com/business/191/details/382182/halal-tourism-is-poised-to-become-next-big-goldmine, February 22nd 2014

Halal Tourism; A New Goldmine for Tourism 47


13% of global travel expenditures. This figure is expected to reach $192 billion by 2020.8

Reto Kaufmann9 observed that For Middle East investors the boom in halal tourism can be seen as a great opportunity.

Growth rates in Asia are forecast to be as high as 30% annually, with the segment for meetings, incentives, conferences

and events (MICE) expected to grow fastest10

With the increasing number of Muslims the demand for halal products is growing every year. However, halal

products and services are popular not only among Muslims, but also among people of other faiths and philosophies, as

halal products are known for their quality and the halal industry based on mutual respect and honest cooperation. Halal

tourism sector from year to year expends its scopes. Key tourism markets of the world have demonstrated a strong interest

in Islamic tourism. However, halal tourism market remains underdeveloped, and the demand for halal services is constantly

increasing.

"Halal Tourism Projects" roundtable focuses on the following issues:

• Analysis of the current status and prerequisites for development of halal market services;

• Requirements and certification rules of halal services;

• Ways of creating ideal conditions for Muslim tourists;

• Additional opportunities to attract Muslim tourists;

• Service on “halal” standard;

• discussion of topical issues of halal industry;

• exchange of experience with foreign countries;

• Formation of mechanisms for further development of the “halal” sector in Russia11

It is estimated that there will be 69 million outbound tourist arrivals generated from the Middle East in 2020,

according to the Tourism 2020 Vision forecasts of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

This represents an average annual growth rate of 6.7% over the period 1995-2020, which is above the global average.

Figures also show that travellers from the Arab Gulf countries spend $20 billion on vacations every year, led by Saudi

tourists whose expenditure tops $8.5 billion12.

The Muslim travel market was estimated to be worth US$140 billion (Dh514.21bn) last year – accounting for

about 13 per cent of the global travel total – and is expected to grow to $200 billion by 2020. Travelers from the GCC

8 Hotelier Middle East Staff, “Europe to host conference on halal tourism” http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/20896-europe-to-host-conference-on-halal-tourism/Jul 1st 2014 9Head of MICE Sales Asia at Kuoni Group Travel Experts, part of Kuoni, one of the largest tourism companies worldwide 10“Halal tourism is poised to become next big goldmine”Op.cit. 11“Prospects of halal tourism industry to be discussed in Moscow”,http://www.abna.ir/english/service/europe/archive/2014/05/15/608847/story.html,May15th 2014 12“University of Waikato to Host New Zealand's First Halal Tourism Symposium”,http://www.waikato.ac.nz/news-events/media/2014/03university-of-waikato-to-host-new-zealands-first-halal-tourism-symposium.shtml, March 24TH 2014.



accounted for 37 per cent of the global spend.13 Indonesia is one Asean country that experiences rapidly rising tourism

numbers from the Middle East, namely Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt, with double-digit growth rates in arrivals

from January to April 2014.

Malaysia also has beefed up activities to market the country as a leading destination for Islamic tourism. Among

non-Muslim countries, the Philippines also reported strongly growing arrivals from the GCC. The country welcomed about

80,000 visitors from the Gulf in 2013 – an increase of around 15% from 2012, and aims at increasing the number by 20%

in 2014 by aggressively stepping up its marketing efforts and improve air connectivity by providing more seats, additional

frequencies and more destinations. Saudi Arabia was Philippines’ top regional source market last year with 38,969 visitors,

up 25% year-on-year. The UAE followed with 15,155 visitors, recording a growth rate of around 15%.

Singapore is also positioning itself as a destination for Muslim holidays, pointing out that it ranks number six on

the list of most Muslim-friendly countries for tourists as per the Islamic travel ranking by halal travel specialist

Crescentrating. Some 15% of Singapore’s population are Muslim, and there are 70 mosques in the city state.14

The tourism sector is set to create about 1.3 million jobs by 2015 and about 1.8 million by 2020, offering direct

employment opportunities in its sub-sectors and indirect jobs in areas induced by tourism-related activity, according to the

annual report of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) for 2012-13.15Exhibit 1.2 shows statistics and forecasts of

the outbound tourism expenditure of Muslim tourists from 2006- 201716

Source: “Global Muslim Lifestyle Travel Market 2012” Available at Http://Static.Hosteltur.Com/Web/Uploads/2013/10/Turismo_Islyamico_Informe_2012_2.Pdf

Figure 2

It is seen that the Muslim Tourists outbound expenditure has been increasing year on year and forecasters have

predicted a sharp increase in 2017. Thus, there is a clear estimate that if countries adapt to Halal practices and acknowledge

13 TomlinsonAmanda “The fast and the smooth: Ramadan travel is big business this year”,http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/travel/the-fast-and-the-smooth-ramadan-travel-is-big-business-this-year#ixzz34z6ffGk7,June 5th 2014 14“SE Asia destinations keen to boost Mideast tourists” http://www.traveldailymedia.com/208483/se-asia-destinations-keen-to-boost-mideast-tourists/, June 8th 2104 15HassanRashid, “Tourism sector to create 1.8m jobs by 2020”,http://islam.ru/en/content/story/tourism-sector-create-18m-jobs-2020, March 3rd 2014. 16“Global Muslim Lifestyle Travel Market 2012” http://static.hosteltur.com/web/uploads/2013/10/turismo_islyAmico_informe_2012_2.pdf( Accessed 15 May 2014)



the Islamic population, the rise in the number of tourists to their region would contribute significantly to the economic

growth of the respective destination.

According to Al Awadi17“This Index will boost the businesses of these firms by encouraging to enhance their

local industries and products and by providing these businesses with new export opportunities across new markets”18

The predicted growth in the hospitality market in the UAE is three times as high as the expected growth in the

overall economy, according to the IMF, which predicts the UAE to expand between 2.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent each year

until 2016.19

The UAE's travel and tourism industry is growing significantly faster than the world growth average, according to

new new economic research released by The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).It said the tourism sector

contributed 14 percent to the UAE economy in 2012 - well above the global trend of 9 percent.Taking account of direct,

indirect and induced impacts, AED193.6bn ($52.7bn) of the UAE's GDP came from the industry last year and that

contribution is expected to rise by 3.2 percent by the end of the year.

One in nine of all jobs in the country are resulting from the industry, which beats the global average of one in 11

jobs, the WTTC said

David Scowsill, president and CEO of WTTC, said: "As the UAE looks to diversify its economy, it is fully

embracing the social and economic benefits of tourism and reaping the rewards already from its strong investment."

By 2023, international tourist arrivals to the country are forecast to total 25.8 million, generating visitor

expenditure of AED207.1bn ($56.4bn) an increase of 5 percent per annum.20

`“This index will be a good platform for all halal firms in the UAE to gain the opportunities for halal businesses

and Islamic industries, which is now well established across geographies,”21

The top ten in order were Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Morocco,

Jordan, Qatar and Tunisia. Malaysia was followed by the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia in

this year's rankings for "halal" friendly holiday destinations released by Singapore-based Muslim travel specialist

Crescentrating22

17Saeed Al Awadi, CEO of Dubai Exports 18BitarZaher,“Dubai to launch Halal Index”, http://gulfnews.com/business/general/dubai-to-launch-halal-index-1.1301675,March 9th2014. 19Jones Rory“UAE hotel and tourism sector to reach $7.5 billion by 2016”, http://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/tourism/uae-hotel-and-tourism-sector-to-reach-7-5-billion-by-2016#ixzz34tqWtK6O,October 9TH 2012 20SambidgeAndy,“UAE tourism worth $52bn in 2012, http://www.arabianbusiness.com/uae-tourism-worth-52bn-in-2012-says-report-493423.html, March 17th 2013

21BitarZaher,“Dubai to launch Halal Index”, http://gulfnews.com/business/general/dubai-to-launch-halal-index-1.1301675,March 9th2014. 22 “malaysia tops survey of 'halal holidays' for muslims, turkey third”,http://islam.ru/en/content/story/malaysia-tops-survey-halal-holidays-muslims-turkey-third, March 21st 2014.



In its Research, Crescentrating Also Gave a Table of the Top 10 Halal Friendly Destinations for the Year 2012

(Figure 3)

Source: Crescentrating (January4th 2012), “Top 10 Halal Friendly Holiday Destinations for 2012 Announced (Online), Available At Https://Www.Crescentrating.Com/Crescentrating-

Press-Releases/Item/2393-Crescentrating-Announces-The-Top-10-Halal-Friendly-Holiday-Destinations-for-2012.Html

Figure 3

Source: “Global Muslim Lifestyle Travel Market 2012” Available at Http://Static.Hosteltur.Com/Web/Uploads/2013/10/Turismo_Islyamico_Informe_2012_2.Pdf

Figure 4

In the year 2013, Cresentrating launched the world’s first full featured travel booking site catering to Muslims.

HalalTrip.com features over 380,000 Booking.com hotels and other accommodations to choose from. This step was taken

in order to provide a global directory of Halal restaurants, mosques and other Halal friendly amenities near the hotel and

surrounding neighborhood would allow the travelers to make educated choices. Crescentrated Hotels are also featured with

information regarding their verified and audited Halal friendly facilities and amenities. HalalTrip.com has partnered with

Booking.com to provide its customers with one of the world’s largest inventories of hotel and holiday travel

accommodation.



RESEARCH DESIGN

The report shows how Halal Tourism has developed as a new concept and the contribution of Islamic Tourism

(Halal Tourism) towards the economic growth of the economy of a country.The method adopted for this study was the

Exploratory Research Design.

Exploratory research is a research which is designed to generate basic knowledge, clarify relevant issues uncover

variables associated with a problem and uncover information needs. It is a very flexible and open ended process and

exploratory research is conducted to gain a deeper understanding of something.

Data Sources

For this was co-edited, codified and tabulated using MS Excel. The simple percentage analysis was utilized for

calculating the research, both Primary and Secondary Data was utilized.

Primary Data was used in the form if questionnaires and telephonic interviews. For the questionnaire a sample

size of 50 individuals of Islamic origin was taken. Telephonic interviews with the travel agents of 5 Travel Agencies were

conducted.

Secondary Data was gathered in the form of websites, books and journals published online.

The collected data percentage. Appropriate charts, graphs and tables have been illustrated to project the tabulated

data.

Limitations of the Study

• The study was limited to a certain period of time and available data

• For the questionnaire, a few of the respondents were either too busy or were hesitant to appear or express their

views. The travel agents were also very hesitant to answer questions.

• The survey had to be carried out after working hours

• Due to time constraint, not many travel agencies could be contacted for the survey.

Survey was carried out in the form of telephonic interviews with 5 travel agencies. Along with that questionnaires

were distributed with a sample size of 50. The 50 respondents were all taken of Islamic religion.

Travel agencies were contacted in order to inquire about the most famous Halal destination that they provide to

the consumers. 3 out of 5 travel agencies listed United States better than the UK for Halal Travel. They gave the reason as

Halal travel not being so developed in the UK areas. Apart from that the SNTTA (Sharjah National Travel and Tourist

Agency) travel agent was not very sure of the term “Halal Tourism”. When asked she was hesitant in her response which

made it clear that SNTTA might not be selling Halal packages. Cox and Kings, Dubai, stated that they sell halal packages

and even suggested a few destinations.

The next section shows the analysis and interpretations from the questionnaire conducted wherein a sample size of

50 was taken. This questionnaire was distributed to the Islamic population who travel quite often. The results gave a clear

picture about the need and awareness of the concept of Halal Tourism. Also it gave an idea of the Muslim Consumers basic

needs and their suggestions for the improvement of the tourism industry as a whole.



Table 1: Travel Frequency

S. No. Criterion Group No. of Respondents % 1 Once in every 5 years 1 2% 2 Once in 2 Years 14 28% 3 Once in a Year 21 42% 4 Multiple times in a year 14 28%

2%

28%

42%

28%

Travel Frequency

Once in every 5 years

Once in 2 Years

Once in a year

Multiple times in a year

Figure 5

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which 42% respondents travel once a year, 28% travel multiple

times in a year, 28% travel once in 2 years and up to 2% travel once in 5 years.

Table 2: Planning the Trip

S. No. Criterion Group No. of Respondents % 1 By Yourself 42 84% 2 Through a Travel Agent 8 16%

42

8

By Yourself Through a Travel Agent

Planning the trip

Figure 6

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, majority (84%) plan the trip by themselves and 16%

plan their trip with the help of a travel agent.



Table 3: Purpose of Travel

S. No. Criterion Group No. of Respondents % 1 Family Vacation 15 30% 2 Business 5 10% 3 Religious 12 24% 4 Visiting Friends and Relatives 18 36%

15

5

12

18

Family Vacation

Business

Religious

Visiting Friends and Relatives

Purpose of Travel

Figure 7

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 36% of the respondents travel to visit their friends and

relatives (VFR), 30% of the respondents travel for family vacation, 24% travel for religious purposes and the rest 10%

travel for business.

Table 4: Defining Halal

S. No. Criterion Group No. of Respondents % 1 Pure 38 76% 2 Impure 0 0% 3 Lawful 12 24%

76%

24%

Definition of the term Halal

Pure Impure Lawful

Figure 8

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, according to 76% of the respondents the term Halal

means “Pure” and 24% of the respondents believe that “Halal” means Lawful.



Table 5: Awareness of Halal Products

S. No. Criterion Group No. of Respondents % 1 Yes 48 96% 2 No 2 4%

96%

4%

Awareness of Halal Products

Yes

No

Figure 9

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 96% of the respondents are aware about Halal products

whereas the rest 4% are not aware of Halal products.

Table 6: Known Halal Products

S. No. Criterion Group No. of Respondents % 1 Cosmetics 17 34% 2 Banking 21 42% 3 Food 48 96% 4 Pharmaceuticals 14 28% 5 Travel 19 38%

Cosmetics

Banking

Food

Pharmaceuticals

Travel

17

21

48

14

19

Known Halal Products

Figure 10

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 96% of respondents associate Halal with food, 42%

associate Halal with Banking, 34% associate Halal with Cosmetics, 28% of respondents associate Halal with

Pharmaceuticals and 38% associate the term Halal with Travel.

Table 7: Awareness about Halal Tourism

S. No. Criterion Group No. of Respondents % 1 Yes 21 42% 2 No 29 58%



Yes

42%

No

58%

Awareness about Halal Tourism

Figure 11

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 58% of respondents are unaware of Halal Tourism and

the rest 42% are aware of Halal Tourism.

Table 8: Halal Friendly Travel

S. No. Criterion Group No. of Respondents % 1 Not Important 1 2% 2 Less Important 4 8% 3 Neutral 16 32% 4 Important 16 32% 5 Very Important 13 26%

1

4

16 16

13

Not Important Less Important Neutral Important Very Important

Halal Friendly Travel

Figure 12

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, according to 32% of the respondents the destination

they travel to should follow Islamic Rules as set by the Shari’ah Law, 26% of respondents state that the criteria is very

important for them, whereas for 32% of respondents the criteria stays neutral and for 8% it is not important for the

destination to follow Islamic Rules.

Table 9: Preference of Halal Travel over Normal Travel

S. No. Criterion Group No. of Respondents % 1 Halal Travel 50 100% 2 Normal Travel 0 0%



Halal Travel Normal Travel

Series1 50 0

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Preference of Halal Travel over

Normal Travel

Figure 13

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, all the respondents prefer Halal Travel over Normal

Travel.

Table 10: Prayer Rooms at Hotels and Public Places



0 1

10

15

24

Prayer room at Hotels and Public Places

Figure 14

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 58% respondents rated Prayer rooms at Hotels and

Public places as the most important factor they consider while travelling. For 30% of respondents the criteria is equally

important, 20% respondents are neutral and for 2% of respondents the criteria stands less important.

Table 11: Separate Restroom Facilities at Public Places




Not Important

Less Important

Neutral

Important

Very Important

0

2

5

15

28

Seperate Restroom Facitlites at Public Places

Figure 15

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 56% respondents rated Separate Restroom Facilities at

Public Places as most important, 30% respondents rated the criteria as important, whereas for 10% respondents this criteria

stands neutral and 4% respondents rated the criteria as less important.

Table 12: Separate Swimming Facilities


2%

8%

26%

26%

38%

Seperate Swimming Facilities

Not Important

Less Important

Neutral

Important

Very Important

Figure 16

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 38% respondents rated separate swimming facilities as

most important, for 26% respondents the criteria is important, whereas 26% rated separate swimming facilities neutral.

For 8% the criteria is less and important and the rest 2% rated it as not important.

Table 13: Availability of Halal Food




Not Important

Less Important

Neutral

Important

Very Important

1

1

10

12

26

Availibility of Halal Food

Figure 17

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 52% respondents rated availability of Halal food at the

destination travelled to as very important. 24% respondents rated the criteria as important whereas for 20% respondents the

criteria is neutral, 2% respondents the criteria is less important and 2% respondents the criteria is not important.

Table 14: Alcohol Free Hotel


Not Important

0%

Less

Important

4%

Neutral

48%Important

18%

Very Important

30%

Alcohol Free Hotel

Figure 18

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 30% respondents rated alcohol free hotel as very

important, 18% respondents stated the criteria as important, whereas for 48% respondents the criteria stands neutral and

4% rated the criteria as less important.

Table 15: Modest Dressing





0 2

20

23

5

Modest Dressing

Figure 19

The sample size consists of 50 respondents, out of which, 46% respondents rated modest dressing as important,

40% respondents rated the criteria as neutral, 10% respondents rated modest dressing as very important and for 2%

respondents the criteria is less important.

OBSERVATION AND FINDING

From the questionnaire and telephonic interviews conducted among the UAE audience regarding Halal Tourism,

it can be seen that even though this kind of tourism is booming in other destinations such as Malaysia, the UAE audience is

not yet aware of this new concept. Awareness in the form of Advertisements by Travel agencies and online booking

websites such as cleartrip.com or booking.com needs to be created in order to foster the concept in people’s minds.

Also it was seen that even though the respondents were not aware of this kind of tourism, every individual who

took part in the survey preferred Halal Travel over Normal Travel. Thus if more awareness is created, outbound tourism is

deemed to increase in no time.

Although this concept has evolved from the needs and requirements of Muslim travelers, but it should be clearly

noted here that the extra or additional services being offered under this head are also advantageous for Non- Muslims.

Majority of this market segment is also in lookout for hygienic & clean hotels, food etc. and they also are going to get very

good experience while travelling in a Halal friendly way.

The concept is interesting but the market for it has to be identified. Hotels should be more creative and look

beyond the Muslim market to use the healthy lifestyle platform. Another recommendation would be to have more

conferences and seminars on Muslim-Friendly Hospitality and Services in order to increase the awareness among all

nations.

In addition to specially tailored tour packages and unique flight experience, the hospitality industry also plays an

important role in promoting halal tourism. International hotels should accommodate to the Muslim tourists’ taste and

spiritual needs on top of providing a 5-star quality environment of comfort and luxury. This is simply about creating the

right themes, ambiances, architecture, interior and exterior that would make them feel at ease during their stay. The hotel

rooms should have a Qibla pointing signage stuck on the ceiling or in drawers, and a prayer mat to allow the Muslim

travelers to perform their religious obligations.

CONCLUSIONS

Halal tourism has definitely gained popularity and has become a new phenomenon in the tourism industry and

countries across the globe should not miss on the opportunity to tap into this market.Thus it can be concluded that there are



big opportunities in the implementation of the Halal Tourism concept. With the growing number of Muslim population and

Muslim travelers, this market segment is expected to grow fast. On the other hand, these opportunities come with big

challenges. These challenges include the measurement of Islamic hotel, and the acceptance and the implementation of the

concept among hoteliers and consumers.

REFERENCES

1. Jafari, J. (1977). Editor’s Page. Annals of Tourism Research, 5(sp. issue), pp6-11.

2. World Tourism Organisation (WTO). (1981). Tourism Multipliers Explained. Madrid: World Tourism

Organisation and Horwarth and Horwarth

3. http://halbase.com/articles/Halal%20Tourism.pdf

4. Saad Karim, “Halal Tourism: Way to Muslim-friendly Environment An Industry that Goes Mainstream”,

February 13th 2014

5. “Investments In The Global Halal Industry: Exploring Faith-inspired Consumerism”,

http://www.entrepreneurmiddleeast.com/investments-in-the-global-halal-industry-exploring-faith-inspired-

consumerism/,July 8th 2014.

6. “Investments In The Global Halal Industry: Exploring Faith-inspired Consumerism”,

http://www.entrepreneurmiddleeast.com/investments-in-the-global-halal-industry-exploring-faith-inspired-

consumerism/, July 8th 2014.

7. MaierbruggerArno,“Halal tourism is poised to become next big goldmine”

http://www.gulf-times.com/business/191/details/382182/halal-tourism-is-poised-to-become-next-big-goldmine,

February 22nd 2014

8. Hotelier Middle East Staff, “Europe to host conference on halal tourism”

http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/20896-europe-to-host-conference-on-halal-tourism/Jul 1st 2014

9. Head of MICE Sales Asia at Kuoni Group Travel Experts, part of Kuoni, one of the largest tourism companies

worldwide

10. “Halal tourism is poised to become next big goldmine” Op.cit.

11. “Prospects of halal tourism industry to be discussed in Moscow”,

http://www.abna.ir/english/service/europe/archive/2014/05/15/608847/story.html, May15th 2014

12. “University of Waikato to Host New Zealand's First Halal Tourism Symposium”,

http://www.waikato.ac.nz/news-events/media/2014/03university-of-waikato-to-host-new-zealands-first-halal-

tourism-symposium.shtml, March 24TH 2014.

13. Tomlinson Amanda “The fast and the smooth: Ramadan travel is big business this year”,

http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/travel/the-fast-and-the-smooth-ramadan-travel-is-big-business-this-

year#ixzz34z6ffGk7,June 5th 2014



14. “SE Asia destinations keen to boost Mideast tourists”

http://www.traveldailymedia.com/208483/se-asia-destinations-keen-to-boost-mideast-tourists/, June 8th 2104

15. HassanRashid, “Tourism sector to create 1.8m jobs by 2020”,

http://islam.ru/en/content/story/tourism-sector-create-18m-jobs-2020, March 3rd 2014.

16. “Global Muslim Lifestyle Travel Market 2012”

http://static.hosteltur.com/web/uploads/2013/10/turismo_islyAmico_informe_2012_2.pdf

(Accessed 15 May 2014)

17. Saeed Al Awadi, CEO of Dubai Exports

18. BitarZaher, “Dubai to launch Halal Index”,

http://gulfnews.com/business/general/dubai-to-launch-halal-index-1.1301675, March 9th2014.

19. Jones Rory“UAE hotel and tourism sector to reach $7.5 billion by 2016”,

http://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/tourism/uae-hotel-and-tourism-sector-to-reach-7-5-billion-

by-2016#ixzz34tqWtK6O,October 9TH 2012

20. SambidgeAndy,“UAE tourism worth $52bn in 2012,

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/uae-tourism-worth-52bn-in-2012-says-report-493423.html, March 17th 2013

21. Bitar Zaher, “Dubai to launch Halal Index”,

http://gulfnews.com/business/general/dubai-to-launch-halal-index-1.1301675,March 9th2014.

22. “Malaysia tops survey of 'halal holidays' for muslims, turkey third”,

http://islam.ru/en/content/story/malaysia-tops-survey-halal-holidays-muslims-turkey-third, March 21st 2014.

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