Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
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2.4.6 Human Capital
Among OIC destinations, there have not been lot of focus on development of human resources
to cater to the MFT market.
Riyanto Sofyan, Chairman of Sofyan Hospitality, is critical that the OIC destination countries
needs to make a consorted effort to enhance the quality of their customer service staff. Indonesia
for example already has a population which is 88 percent Muslims. He adds that they should not
become complacent. To tap into the potential of the local and global tourism market, more effort
should be done to develop human resources. The challenge the hospitality industry faces in
Indonesia is that they are complacent in the delivery of customer service. What is needed is to
understand the importance of individualistic needs and provide tailor made experience.
Innovation is customer service is a necessity.
Hugo Gerritsen, Area General Manager, Dorsett Grand Subang Malaysia mentions that staff
training is an ongoing process. Hotel staff are required to take a short exam every quarter to
determine their attitude towards exemplary customer service. Customer service is one of the key
differentiating criteria in this highly competitive industry he mentioned. If they fail the exam, they
need to enroll on a program.
2.4.7 Destinations
There is very little effort currently by the OIC countries to earnestly promote itself as a
“Muslim Friendly destination”.
Most current NTO driven efforts are centered around Malaysia, UAE and Indonesia. Although
Turkey gets high number of Muslim visitors, it is due to its heritage and private enterprise
driven initiates. Only Malaysia and very recently Indonesia has issued guidelines to develop
the MFT market in the country.
This is in contrast to the effort by non-OIC destinations. Many of them are developing
strategies to attract the Muslim travelers. Some of the activities are:
 Tourism Australia developed a “Muslim Traveler Guide”.
 Singapore released a Muslim visitor guide as well. It has been anyway popular because
of its abundance of Halal dining options and its establishment of a dedicated Halal
certification body.
Zulkifly Md Said, Director General of Islamic Tourism Centre Malaysia commented that
Tourism Malaysia has commenced marketing and promotion of Malaysia in the Middle East and
West Asia market describing the country to be suitable for Muslim tourist and that it offers only
Halal activities. Tourism Malaysia is communicating that Malaysia is a destination that is well
prepared with relevant facilities and services for the needs of Muslim travelers .
Mohamed Firhan Abdul Salam Area Director, Middle East & Africa, Singapore Tourism Board
mentions that the government needs to move beyond promoting tourism. Currently government
tourism boards are helpful when approached. The next step is to become facilitators. This involves
becoming though leaders and setting the standards.