Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
105
The large number of luxury retailers present in the UK is a strong attraction. Tourists from the
Middle East region enjoy shopping at luxury retailers. In addition, the ability of many Muslim
tourists from Middle East and Asia to speak English also facilitates trips to the UK. Leisure
visits predominately take place in July to September.
Strengths and challenges for the UK’s MFT segment
The UK has had strong tourism growth, especially since hosting the London Olympics in 2012.
Due to its growing local middle class Muslim population, there are many Halal food outlets and
Muslim friendly services across the UK. This has also meant that there is a steady growth of
Muslim visitor arrivals to the UK. In 2014, Muslim Visitor arrivals to the UK accounted for 6.6
percent of the total arrivals compared to 6.0 percent in 2010.
The key strength is its local Muslim population. UK has over 2.8 million Muslims people which
is a large population for a non-OIC country. This has resulted in the development of a many
Halal food and Muslim friendly services. It also has a number of Halal Certification bodies with
some of the focusing on Halal restaurant certification.