Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):

Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides

In the OIC Member Countries

In order to better understand and cater to the MFT market, the use of the following conceptual

framework of MFT, based on the three components is proposed and illustrated in Figure 6.

This framework allows destinations and services to plan a coherent product

adaptation/development strategy aimed at the MFT market. The following sections detail each

of these three components.

1.2.1 Why Faith-based Needs?

Faith is increasingly influencing the purchasing decisions of Muslims. This is evident from the

fast growth of Islamic industries i.e. Islamic Banking, Halal Food, Islamic Fashion, Halal

cosmetics and other related industries. Pew Research report (2012) shows an increasing

adherence to the five pillars of Islam by Muslims across 39 countries, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: General observance of five pillars

Median Observation

across the 39 countries

Declaration of faith in God (Allah) and the Prophet Muhammad

97%

Fasting during day time in the month of Ramadhan

93%

Observing zakat (charitable giving)

77%

Performing salat (five daily prayers)

63%

Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)

Source: Pew Research Center’s August 2012 report, “The Worlds’ Muslims: Unity and Diversity”

This increasing adherence to faith-based needs can be attributed to three main reasons:

Reason #1: “Way of Life”

Muslims see Islam as a “way of life”, in which its guidance and values touch upon all aspects of

their lives, including consumption behavior. The consumer drivers of the unique Muslim

lifestyle are centered on food (‘Halal’ options), family friendly environments, religious

practices, accommodation, gender relation nuances, modest clothing, education, finances, and

other areas. Much of these values do have universal appeal, and products and services do not

have to be exclusively positioned for Muslims.

Reason #2: Growing income and enabling environment

The recent growth in this faith-based market has also been due to the fact that some of the

fastest growing economies today are Muslim majority countries. Bangladesh, Indonesia, Saudi

Arabia, the UAE, Malaysia, Nigeria, Turkey and others are some of the fastest growing

economies, resulting in a growth of middle-class and high-income earners. This growing

income

level is driving consumers to assert their unique consumption needs. This trend is being

supported by a growing and Halal industry that is being nurtured by the largest Muslim-

majority economies of Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Reason #3: It is already real and growing

In essence, faith as a key market attribute is already real and growing for Muslim consumers.

There is also increasing trade among Muslim countries given Muslim market affinities, thus

intra-OIC trade has been growing. In travel, as the study will be highlighting later, many

Muslim travelers are traveling to Muslim majority countries (e.g. Turkey, Malaysia) given