Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
48
Kazi Shafiqur Rahman, the CEO of Firnas Airways commented that prayer rooms need to also
have water friendly washrooms. At times this was not readily available. Mohammed Siddique, a
Property Consultancy Manager mentioned that the nature of Wudhu means it is often difficult to
perform in a public bathroom with conventional wash-basins or sinks. He discusses that further
improvements could be made in this area.
2.2.5 No Non-Halal Activities
This is mainly related to having travel services and facilities, which do not have any activities
which are regarded as “non-Halal”. As discussed in Chapter 1, a sub-segment of the Muslim
travelers looks for such services. These relate mainly to places that do not entertain alcohol,
gambling and night clubs/discotheques. The main hospitality service which is related to this
are the hotels. In OIC destinations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey and GCC countries,
hotels which cater to these needs are growing. In non-OIC countries there is also an emergence
of what is called “dry hotels” which do not serve alcohol. More hotel chains are also removing
adult channels from hotel room TV channels. According to the Economist13 Hilton Hotels has
said it will to stop offering on-demand pornography to all of its guests worldwide from next
year.
Fouzi Mohideen, General Manager of Gulf Paradise Hotel based in Doha Qatar mentioned that
the Hotel is a “dry”, which means alcohol is no longer available. The aim of the hotel is to be
Muslim friendly, providing services and facilities that would meet their needs. To attract the
Muslim tourist, the hotel held a Morocco Food festival. This proved to be popular attracting even
tourist from neighboring countries. Two Moroccan Senior Chefs were especially flown for the
event.
2.2.6 Recreational facilities and facilities with privacy
A sub-segment of Muslim travelers is looking for recreational facilities that provide privacy for
males and females. This is currently focused on gyms, swimming pools and beach areas, which
provide privacy for females and males. With regards to beach resorts, currently among the OIC
destinations, only Turkey offers a few such beaches. There are a few hotels now in OIC
countries offering separate timings or facilities for males and females when it comes to gyms
or swimming pools, but they still make up only a handful. None of the non-OIC countries offer
any of those services.
Muslim tourists to Asia did not notice hotels or resorts offering these facilities. Hj. Rafek Saleh,
IHIA Executive Director (Shariah), International Halal Integrity Alliance observed that some
hotels have specific times which only Muslim women can use for example the swimming pool and
other recreational areas. This proved popular with the Muslim tourist. Rahma Hersi, Managing
Partner at Awal Consulting Limited commented that privacy can be enjoyed by the Muslim
tourist if hotels provide such facilities.
Summarizing the above, Kamraan Siddiqui, Head of National Workforce Development based in
Dubai stated that it is important to examine Muslim tourist habits, practices and disposition
towards everyday life. “A one size fits all approach should not be adopted or even considered.” To
13 The Economist (2015); Why Hilton is phasing out on-demand porn in its hotels; August 2015