Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
46
terms of Halal Food and prayer facilities. Furthermore, the rise of the Muslim traveler has made
the travel industry sit up and pay careful attention to meeting the needs of the Muslim travelers.
He suggested that OIC member states government develop a universal halal certification
program. This would entail dining establishments to display the exact identical Halal logo across
the Muslim countries. The advantage is this would greatly aid the consumers. He further added
this in the future this could be expanded to maybe some non-OIC member states.
Siddika Jaffer, based in the UK, mentioned Halal food to be a very important consideration for
the Muslim traveler. Many destinations across the world have identified this potential and are
adapting their offerings to better appeal to the Muslim travel market. One such example is Japan.
In a bid to diversify its tourism industry, the Japanese Government is implementing plans to
increase the availability of Halal food, and other Muslim-friendly facilities. Siddika envisions the
further development of Halal fine dining. Traditionally Halal food was associated with simplicity
and the cuisine was limited to maybe Asian or Middle East food. With Japan keen to attract
Muslim tourist, Japanese halal food is an option. Perhaps other food including South American
Halal food may become available in OIC member states.
Countries need to be innovative to develop their dining industry. Dining has become a very
competitive market. Muhammad Kamal, the President of Singapore Halal Culinary Federation,
mentioned the example of Malaysia, where the Muslim tourist does not need to be concerned
with the dining outlets. However, in some destinations the dining outlets which offer Halal cuisine
are not obvious to the tourist. At times they need to make inquiries with the restaurant staff. They
may be reluctant to speak with them especially if English is not their primary language. To
further develop this Halal market he commented to bring fun and excitement. He suggested that
countries could explore the development of a Halal heritage food trails. This could be a novelty.
The trail could involve for example tours to various local halal eateries. History of the cuisine
could perhaps be highlighted.
Sinan Ozturk, CEO of Kervan, a restaurant chain in South Korea said Turkish food has a good
reason to be popular in South Korea both among the tourist and locals. The restaurant has
witnessed high demand especially from South East Asian Muslim tourists. Also a musician playing
the traditional musical instrument Qanun in the restaurant is highly popular amongst both locals
and tourist.
2.2.2 Prayer Facilities
Although there were no major concerns raised by surveyed and interviewed participants on
the availability of prayer facilities in OIC member states, there were some concerns raised by
interviewees related to the up keeping of those prayer places, especially along highways and
Airports.
A recent report addresses such a concern in Saudi Arabia. According to a press release issued
by Saudi Commission for Culture and Tourism Heritage (SCTH 2014), it signed a cooperation
agreement with the Roadside’s Mosques Charity Association “Masajedna”, to support its efforts in
the care and preservation of mosques situated at the roadside stations across the Kingdom.
It quoted its Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, President of SCTH, saying
“SCTH will coordinate with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) to issue