Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
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through a travel agency and only 11% citing contacting hotels directly. The rest of the
respondents cited staying with friends and family or getting accommodation through walk in
without previous booking. However, it is worth noting that since the survey data was
collected through the internet that the results may be skewed in favor of online reservations.
MFT Pricing Strategies: Tourism products and services providers have a choice between
three main pricing strategies depending on cost, demand, and competition. Interviews
conducted within the scope of the case studies with MFT products and services providers
indicate that tourism products and services providers are aware of the need to remain
competitive and are pricing their products and services accordingly. In certain cases,
however, some providers increase prices due to high demand for MFT products in peak
seasons due to higher demand.
It is worth noting that when survey respondents were asked if they are willing to pay extra to
receive products and services tailored to meet their religious needs, almost three quarter of
the respondents (74%) mentioned they would be willing to pay more. When asked how much
more in terms of a percentage they were willing to pay, more than a third of those who were
willing to pay more cited figures from 6 to 10%, close to a quarter of them were willing to pay
more than 10% while a similar percent was willing to pay only from 1% to 5% more and the
rest were unsure how much more they are willing to pay.
Government engagement: OIC Governments have supported to varying degrees the
development of the MFT sector. A number of OIC official tourism agencies bodies have
engaged in raising awareness of the MFT market potential and Muslim traveler expectation
and needs. Besides planning and improving the basic infrastructure, some OIC governments
have provided support for SMEs through the provision of guidance and subsidies to help them
develop products and services targeting Muslim travelers in acknowledgment of the
importance of that sector.
With certification being one of the main challenges facing entrants to the MFT market,
governments have been increasingly active in setting guidelines for Halal certification and
supporting MFT products and services providers obtain Halal certification. Destination
marketing is one of the areas where many OIC governments have been active. Among the
initiatives undertaken by governments in this area is the development of Muslim visitor
guides in a variety of formats suitable for different platforms as well as organizing
conferences and industry events in addition to creating strategic partnerships to help
promote the MFT sector.
Key gaps and opportunities: Based on the analysis of this Study’s research findings, key areas
identified as gaps and opportunities to consider for MFT market product/ services and
marketing strategy development were identified.
 This Study’s survey confirms the significant view that ‘religious’ considerations in
travel products/services represent a significant need of most Muslim travellers. A
big number (84%) of respondents said they research destinations before traveling to
ensure they meet their religious needs. They mentioned getting the information through
travel websites (72%), from family and friends (63%), social media (47%), blogs (41%),
travel agencies (22%), and advertising (12%). In ranking criteria for choosing leisure
travel destination, catering to religious needs had the highest (65%) respondents saying
that it was ‘Extremely Important.’ (See section #2.2). For accommodations, the