Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
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 Announcement by Orlando Airport last month to build multi-faith prayer room with
facilities for Muslims
 Taipei, Taoyuan International Airport - Taiwan's largest airport – offers two a
designated prayer area for Muslims available at the transit area and are accessible 24
hours. Halal-certified restaurants and outlets are also available.
 Taipei railway station opened a prayer room this year
Manager at Fukuoka Airport
The airport views Halal food, is that they have a restaurant serving non-pork/no alcohol menu.
However, if they do see enough demand, the airport would consider having one of their own
restaurants made more “Muslim-friendly” by learning from such restaurants at other airports in
Japan. They will welcome any collaboration with the authorities in terms of conducting seminars
and training to better understand this market segment.
2.4.2 Transport Services
Transport services that were looked into include Airlines, Trains, and Highways. As for
Airlines, the requirement from Muslim travelers is on Halal food, prayer information, services
during Ramadhan and the issue of seating next to passengers consuming alcohol. Airlines have
been providing “Muslim Meals” under the meal code “MOML”. However, there is concern
among Muslim travelers that the definition of MOML does not adequately define “Halal food”.
Following are definitions of MOML from some Airline websites:
Cathay Pacific: MOML – Moslem Meal* - Containing no pork and pig by-products, gelatine, non-
white fish meat from species without scales or fins, alcohol and flavouring extracts with alcohol.
* All meals on flights to and from Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Middle East and Pakistan are
prepared according to the Halal method.
Singapore Airlines: No alcohol, pork, pig by-products, ham or bacon is used in the preparation of
this meal. Its preparation and cooking style may vary.
The above does not clearly capture the requirement for food to be Halal, as does for example
the definition for Kosher food.
Cathay Pacific: KSML - Kosher Meal - Prepared according to Jewish dietary law and purchased
from reputable manufacturers.
Some OIC based full service airlines like Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Turkish
Airlines, etc., do state “All meals served are Halal”
Etihad Airways: All meals we serve are Halal, prepared in strict compliance to halal
requirements. There is no need to specifically request this as all our meals are suitable for
Muslims .
Turkish Airlines: All meals served on Turkish Airlines flights are included in the category of
Moslem Meal (MOML) and are in accord with Islamic religious beliefs.
Recent developments in this area include increasing number of Airline caterers getting Halal
certification for their kitchens.