Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
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shows), develop Muslim-friendly vacation and beach resorts, Muslim-friendly home
sharing, Muslim-focused concierge apps, and culturally themed hotels.
o In the food and beverages sector; provide Halal food credentials for food service
venues, create Muslim-friendly meal sharing platform, and develop review sites for
Halal restaurants to develop strong brands.
o In the travel services area;
 For travel agencies; differentiate by focusing on specific target market and
product offering, and target Muslim market segments in addition to other market
segments.
 For ancillary services; develop Takaful –based travel insurance and travel
financing services.
 In the activities area; improve the infrastructure of heritage sites, adapt culture
based entertainment to be Muslim-friendly, provide clear Halal food options and
prayer rooms in malls and at attractions, and train tour guides at Islamic heritage
sites
 Key areas of MFTmarketing gaps and opportunities are as follows:
o Traditional advertising; develop visitor guides and create innovative integrated
campaigns that combine both traditional and digital advertising.
o Digital promotion; develop online visitor guides, create promotions based on
friends and family referral/recommendation, utilize video blogging (Vblogging),
mobile marketing, marketing videos, YouTube ads , Virtual Reality, and Halal apps.
o Public relations; launch influencer campaigns, organize Familiarization Trips (Fam
trips) and trade shows, and use press releases.
o Sales promotion; create cross promotions with other ‘Halal’ economy sectors,
organize contests and trade shows, and offer discounts.
o Integrated campaigns; develop integrated offline and social media campaigns,
launch social media influencer contests, use Cluster Marketing.
o Distribution; MFT online travel agencies (OTAs) should increase consumer
awareness in their services.
o Pricing; continue competitive pricing for undifferentiated products, charge premium
pricing for value-added and high demand products.
Policy recommendations : For national tourism Ministries or official agencies of OIC member
countries, a 5-step structured set of recommendations is presented below. This is aimed to
provide practical recommendations to facilitate an effective national MFT strategy, related
policies, products and services priorities, marketing priorities, and recommendations for
Tourism private-sector key player types.