Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
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commented that although the restaurants in the hotel had halal certificates a character, a sense
of identity was necessary.
In Lombok, hotels are also promoting themselves as Islamic, with nine so far having gained
coveted Shariah certification. The system of stars for conventional hotels is enhanced. Shariah
accommodation is labeled with the crescent moon, a symbol associated with Islam, with the
best receiving three. A hotel must have signs pointing towards Mecca and copies of the Koran
in its rooms, as well as a kitchen where halal food can be prepared, to gain its first crescent
moon.
d) Most Attractions & Activities (shopping, beaches, sightseeing etc.)
Most Shopping Malls and attractions do offer Halal food and prayer rooms. However, there are
almost no beach resorts that offer private beaches as the ones offered in some parts of Turkey.
e) Travel agents/Tour operators
Indonesia outbound tour operators are now looking at providing Muslim friendly inbound
packages to Indonesia. It is still not widespread.
Irawan Surya Kusuma, Founder & CEO at Trip on Halal based in Jakarta mentioned the
following points on the tour operators:
- No player really dominates the global Muslim travel niche. The opportunity is strong and
many vendors are participating in various market segment areas.
- Although there are a couple of other players in the region with the same focus as Trip on
Halal there is market opportunity for both payers to coexist.
His comments highlight the potential growth opportunity. Even as number of vendors
increase, the chance for future growth remains strong.
f) Human capital
In Indonesia there is relatively good knowledge and expertise towards catering to the Muslim
traveler. There are also increasing number of workshops targeted at educating the industry on
the MFT market. However, as the case across the OIC destinations, there is no structured
program to develop human resources to cater to the MFT sector.
g) Destinations
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and the Indonesian Ulema Council signed a
MOU to make Indonesia a premier destination for Muslim friendly tourism. Also the
government is very supportive in promoting Indonesia as a Muslim travel destination. It has
produced tourist guides promoting Indonesia as a ‘Muslim friendly destination’. It highlights
the country’s best ‘sharia’ tourism destinations and notes there are more than 600,000
mosques in the archipelago.