Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
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d) Attractions & Activities (shopping, beaches, sightseeing etc.)
Almost all attractions in the country offer Muslim friendly environment. Halal food and prayer
facilities are available at the attraction.
e) Travel agents/Tour operators
There are many Muslim tour operators providing Muslim friendly holidays to Malaysia. H.E
Dato’ Nazirah Hussain, Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand mentioned that the Muslim tour
packages, for example, are one of the products that can be promoted extensively. With Islam as
the official religion and with over 60 percent of the population Muslims, Malaysia has the
potential to be the preferred Muslim-oriented destination for tourists. She views that developing
tour packages catering to the needs of Muslims would increase inbound tourism into the country.
Mr Zulkifly Md Said, Director General of Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) Malaysia says that tour
guides need to take the initiatives in understanding the Muslim travelers. It’s beyond just the
Mecca prayer direction in the room. Customized tours need to include the places the group would
like to visit and the activities of interest.
f) Human capital
Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) has continued to roll out extensive workshop and seminars to
educate the all stake holders in the travel industry. Zulkifly Md Said, Director General of
Islamic Tourism Centre Malaysia says that training programs need to be developed and offered
to Hotels and other service providers. Well trained staff will further the development of the
Muslim friendly tourism. The training should cover many areas and not just customer service.
Topics may include amongst others, the promotion, marketing, sustainable tourism and
community tourism. Also technical tours to this programme will expose participants to various
products and services and facilitate discussion with industry participants.
g) Destinations
Most Arab and also Asian Muslim tourists enjoy the modern shopping environments in
Malaysia especially for luxury goods. Tourism Malaysia has started to adopt a strategy to
encourage the Middle East tourists to go beyond the Klang Valley. It has begun to show its
positive results where according to Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agent (MATTA),
the Middle East tourists have now started traveling to destinations like Langkawi and Penang.
The average length of stay of these Arab tourists in Kuala Lumpur has also shortened from two
weeks to only seven or eight days.
Mohammed Ali Alali, a petroleum engineering student from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, went
there on honeymoon with his bride to Malaysia, mentioned that, “It’s not that far from Saudi
Arabia and it’s less expensive to travel here rather than Europe. It’s also an Islamic country so
that helps in many ways, like to find a mosque and Arabic food.”
Zulkifly Md Said, Director General of Islamic Tourism Centre Malaysia mentioned that more
could be done to further promote Muslim tourism. He suggested that this could be undertaken in
collaboration with OIC member states. The suggestions are as follows;