Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
38
Muslim-Friendly Airports
Many destinations have started to make their airports Muslim-friendly by providing prayer areas
and washrooms as well as providing Halal food options. Japan is one of the countries that
recently paid a lot of attention to accommodating Muslim travelers from the moment they reach
the country that meant that a number of Japanese airports worked on ensuring they can cater to
Muslim traveler needs.
An example of this is Kansai International Airport which has allocated three prayer rooms at
different terminals as well as ablution areas to enable Muslim travelers to cleanse before
praying. The airport also has a number of restaurants preparing Halal food including three ‘Halal
certified’ restaurants.40
In Thailand, a number of airports provide prayer rooms and Halal restaurants including
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, Chiang Mai International Airport, and Phuket International
Airport.41 In the Netherlands, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol offers a “multi faith” prayer room and
has a Halal restaurant.42
Muslim-Friendly Airlines
While many airlines have started providing Muslim travelers with Halal meals on board in an
effort to cater to their needs, some airlines have started to provide more services such as airing
travel supplications, providing Islamic media content and in some cases not offering alcohol
onboard. British Airlines offers Halal food on some of its routes originating from London
Heathrow Airport. Its in-flight caterer Gate Gourmet uses a completely Halal production process
starting with the preparation of food to its storage and transportation. Some airlines also
prohibit alcohol and air pre-recorded Muslim supplications during takeoff such as Air Arabia,
Kuwait Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines.43
The U.K. based Firnas Airways, founded by Bangladeshi businessman Kazi Shafiqur Rahman, is
scheduled to start operation in 2016 with services to South Asia and plans to expand to Saudi
Arabia and Iran. In addition to providing Halal food, the airline, which uses Shariah compliant
finance, it has a modified “staggered” cabin layout to ensure privacy and doesn’t offer alcohol on
board.44
Muslim-Friendly Cruises
Muslim Friendly cruises are one of the more recent product offerings in the MFT market. While
some mainstream tourism providers try to accommodate Muslim traveler basic needs in terms
of Halal food, a number of companies have started to offer cruises that provide other services
besides Halal food such as segregated entertainment areas and prayer space in addition to not
offering alcohol or gambling. Disney cruises provide an example of a key player in the
mainstream cruise industry that offers Halal food to accommodate Muslim travelers, provided
they were notified ahead of the trip with the travelers’ needs.
Other companies have sought to address the MFT sector with specific products developed to
better accommodate Muslim travelers. The Salaam Cruise, established in the U.S. in 2010, offered
40 Battour, M., and Ismail, M.N. “Halal Tourism: Concepts, Practices, Challenges and Future .” Tourism Management
Perspectives (2015)
41 Please refer to Thailand case study for more information.
42 "Facilities for Muslims at the Busiest Airports in the Netherlands." HalalTrip. 9 Nov. 2015. Web.
43 Stephenson, Marcus L. "Deciphering ‘Islamic hospitality’: Developments, challenges and opportunities." Tourism Management
40 (2014): 155-164.
44 Yousef, Deena Kamel. “Firnas Air to pitch Shariah-friendly flights for London Muslims.” Stuff. 2 Oct. 2016.