Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
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Islamic travel
 Muslims traveling mainly for religious reasons and/or to visit Islamic religious sites.
 Islamic travel is a subset of Halal travel.
Hajj & Umrah travel
 Muslims traveling for performing Hajj or Umrah
 Hajj & Umrah travel is a subset of Islamic travel. It should be noted that Hajj & Umrah travel
makes up most of Islamic travel.
Muslim-friendly destination/Halal-friendly destination
 Muslim friendly destination is a more appropriate term to refer to destinations catering to the
needs of the Muslim travelers.
Muslim Friendly Tour packages/Halal Friendly Tour packages
 Tour packages that take into account some faith-based needs of the Muslim travelers.
Halal Tour packages
 Tour packages that ensure all aspects of the itinerary and the activities planned are suitable for
Muslims and take into account all the key faith-based needs of the Muslim travelers.
Muslim friendly facility/service
 The service or the facility has taken into account some faith-based needs of Muslim travelers,
but not all their needs. Although Halal-friendly facility/service may also convey the same
meaning, the term Muslim friendly service/facility is more appropriate.
Halal service/facility
 A service or a facility which caters to all the key needs of Muslim travelers.
Shariah-compliant services/facility
 The service or the facility not only caters to all the key needs of the Muslim travelers, but also
strictly adheres to many other Islamic requirements. This includes adhering to company
governance and operations, which take into account various Islamic requirements such as
Halal non-interest based financing etc.
For OIC member states to capitalize on their strengths and get a major share of the MFT
market, it is imperative that all travel stakeholders in the destinations have a good
understanding of all aspects of MFT. This chapter has described the key components and
terminology related on MFT and could be the foundation for the basic understanding of the
MFT market.