Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
57
that offer Halal food. The Antalya based Fusion Tour Company in Turkey is launching a Halal
cruise to Greece that offers Halal food and segregated sports and spa facilities. 137
Across OIC Countries, most transportation facilities offer Halal food and prayer areas for
Muslim travelers. All Egyptian airports have prayer areas and offer a variety of Halal food
options from local to international restaurants. In Turkey, most oil stations and stopovers
have prayer areas and ablution facilities on the highways. Public sea buses and ferries also
provide prayer areas and ablution facilities. 138
 Activities
Attractions, recreation and entertainment venues across the OIC countries offer a varying
level of services to accommodate Muslim travelers’ needs. Some venues offer Halal food
options, prayer areas and washing areas for ablutions, others offer special service hours for
women and families to enjoy the entertainment facilities.
 In Egypt and Malaysia, most shopping malls offer prayer rooms, washing areas for
ablutions and Halal food options.
 In Indonesia, ‘Halal spas’ are gaining popularity with their Muslim friendly services
that include headscarf styling. These spas use only Halal cosmetics totally free from
pork derivatives.139
 In Saudi Arabia, Al Shallal Theme Park in Jeddah offers, in addition to its rides,
educational and sporting activities as well as shopping outlets and restaurants. The
theme park has several prayer rooms and its restaurants offer Halal only food. It has
special service hours for ladies only and special days for families. 140
 In Malaysia, the Genting Highlands theme parks and the Sunway Lagoon in Petaling
Jaya offer several prayer rooms in addition to providing Halal food.
 In the UAE, theme parks, such as Ferrari World and Wild Wadi Waterpark, also offer
prayer rooms and Halal food.141
 Travel Services
Traditionally, travel agencies have focused on fulfilling Muslim travelers’ Hajj and Umrah
needs, however, they have started lately considering leisure travel also as an area where
there are Muslim needs to be met.
 In Turkey, Tura Tourism Holding, a mainstream company, created a department that
provides “Halal customized” services for Muslim travelers who would like to travel to
Western countries. In Malaysia, Lintas Travel Services provides Tour Packages to a
number of Asian, Middle Eastern and European destinations. The agency builds its
137 Battour, M., and Ismail, M.N. “Halal Tourism: Concepts, Practices, Challenges and Future.” Tourism Management
Perspectives (2015)
138 Turkey case study
139 Stephenson, Marcus L. "Deciphering ‘Islamic hospitality’: Developments, challenges and opportunities." TourismManagement
40 (2014): 155-164.
140 "Al Shallal Theme Park, Jeddah" HalalTrip. Web.
141 “The Best Theme Parks for Muslim Kids.” HalalTrip. Web.