Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
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 The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism organized meetings between tour
operators from Indonesia and Saudi buyers in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam
in November 2015. It also organized Familiarization trips for tourism
operators, especially from Saudi Arabia in January, 2016 and from Egypt in
March and April, 2016.
 In Turkey, the 2nd Halal Travel Conference was held in Konya. The Turkish
State Railways is sponsoring the event and providing free fast train tickets for
foreign visitors for their way from Istanbul Airport to Konya city.
• Strategic Partnerships
 Indonesia and Malaysia are cooperating in developing and strengthening MFT
products as well as promoting both countries as MFT destinations through
joint travel packages targeting Muslim travelers. This cooperation was
initiated during the 43rd ASEAN NTO Meeting in January 2016.
 In 2012, Brunei Tourism Development Department launched the Brunei –
Malaysia Islamic Tour package in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia and
Malaysia’s Islamic Tourism Centre at the Islamic Cultural Centre, London
Central Mosque. The Brunei tour package, “The Kingdom of Unexpected
Treasures” was created by travel agencies in Malaysia in cooperation with
Darussalam Holdings, the designated local travel agent by Brunei Tourism
Development Department. 157
• Public Relations Activities
 In Indonesia, the Ministry of Tourism launched a campaign featuring three
celebrity bloggers, two from Malaysia and one from Singapore, who were
invited to travel to Indonesia with their families to document their
adventures on blog posts on HalalTrip’s website.
 The Indonesian coastal city of Pariaman in Indonesia organized a blogging
contest to promote itself as an Islamic tourism destination. To take part in the
contest, high school student from the city created blog entries about their
city’s being a Halal tourism destination.
 In Brunei, an exhibition showcasing Islamic artefacts from Turkey as well as
the private collection of the Sultan of Brunei was launched as part of a
promotion campaign to highlight Brunei as a Muslim friendly destination.
Journalists were invited from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to cover the
event.158
157"Brunei Tourism Launched Brunei-Malaysia Islamic Tour Package in the United Kingdom." ASEAN Tourism. 7 Nov.
2012. Web.
158 Masli, Ubaidillah. "Brunei Taps into Islamic Tourism." The Brunei Times. 17 Mar. 2011. Web.