Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
45
2.2 Review of Faith-based Needs of Muslim Travelers in the OIC Member
Countries
The developments in the OIC member states with respect to the 6 main faith-based needs are
presented here.
2.2.1 Halal Food
Many of the Muslim tourists surveyed and interviewed for this study indicated Halal food as
their primary concern when traveling. Most OIC member states have Halal certification bodies.
However, their focus is on certifying products and not restaurants. A harmonized Halal
standard and a uniform certification process across the OIC member states will greatly help
accelerate the adoption of Halal certification by food outlets. The Standards and Metrology
Institute for Islamic Countries (SMICC) is a standards body for the OIC member states, which
aims to achieve “‘One Halal’ logo and ‘One Halal’ standard”. SMICC could play an important
role in enabling widespread use of Halal certification.
Malaysia is the leading country when it comes to Halal certifying restaurants and food outlets.
The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia’s (JAKIM) Halal Hub Department is
responsible for awarding certificates. The Malaysian government provides full support in
promoting the Halal certification process on products and services (including restaurants).
The Malaysian Halal Standard - “Halal Food: Production, Preparation, Handling and Storage –
General Guidelines” was created within the framework of the Malaysian Standards
Development system. An increasing number of food outlets, including ones in hotels are
getting Halal certified through JAKIM in Malaysia. In recent times, JAKIM has also actively
encouraged to get all hotels providing “Ramadhan Buffet” Halal certified. This is followed by
Indonesia, the certification body of which is Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI).
Whereas most of the other OIC member states do not have a strong “restaurant Halal
certification” culture; the developments in non-OIC destinations are very different. In many
destinations such as Singapore, Thailand, South Africa, the UK, USA, Australia, Japan, South
Korea etc. a growing number of restaurants are getting Halal certified. This is leading to clear
signage at the restaurants displaying their Halal certificates, which helps the travelers.
A wide variety of Halal-certified restaurants are available in Singapore, serving all types of
cuisine. Most international food chains in Singapore such as Pizza Hut, Long John Silver, Mc
Donalds and Coffee Bean, are Halal-certified, and a quick walk around the streets will offer
numerous dining options for Muslims.
Non-OIC NTOs are now publishing “Muslim visitor guides” which list the Halal restaurants in
different cities of the destinations. Recently, Tourism Australia, Korea Tourism, Jeju Island and
a number of cities of Japan have published such guides. There are also a growing number of
mobile applications providing information on Halal restaurants at destinations. These apps
include HalalTrip, Zabiha etc. Entrepreneurs from non-OIC countries develop most of these
apps.
Kamraan Siddiqui, the Head of National Workforce Development based in Dubai mentioned
that Muslims travelers today are more vocal in expressing their preferences and requirements in