Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
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Highlighted Supplier: Holiday Bosnia
The Plivsko Jezero Hotel is 20m away from the Large Pliva Lake. The hotel started offering
Muslim-friendly services in 2010, bringing in Halal certified food products and providing a
prayer room in the hotel. In the beginning, there was backlash from the community and even
from other hotel guests. The hotel management resorted to employing guards for the
premises in the first year. However, with increased interaction, a more tolerant atmosphere
developed.
The hotel started promoting itself through traditional advertising tools, namely TV ads, in
Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia. In the first year, the hotel had 200 Muslim tourist coming in,
rising to 3000 tourists in the next year, and then reaching 10,000 annually ever since. The
hotel, after its initial used of advertising, has been mainly also relying on word of mouth from
satisfied clients to promote itself.
The majority of the hotel clientele come from GCC countries including Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia, Oman and the UAE. The hotel mainly used travel agencies in the GCC as a distribution
channel but now with returning guests and increased word of mouth, it also gets a lot of
reservations through direct sales.
While the hotel currently serves alcohol since 70% of its clientele are non-Muslims, it has
plans to establish a Halal only restaurant that does not serve alcohol for its Muslim guests.
The management also is thinking of expanding and having a new completely Muslim-friendly
hotel.184
5. Challenges
 It is sometimes quite difficult to accommodate both Muslims and non-Muslims guests
needs, as shown in the case of the Plivsko Jezero Hotel. As mentioned, the hotel
suffered backlash from both its local community and non-Muslims guests.
 While a few hotels and restaurants have obtained Halal certification, most
establishments have not. Many may offer Halal food options but are not certifies. This
could pose a problem for Muslim tourists if they are unable to ascertain whether such
services and products are in compliance with Islamic regulations.
6. Lessons Learned
 Offering innovative travel services, as in the case of Holiday Bosnia adventure tours,
can attract Muslim tourists to new areas and help differentiate travel products.
 The use of word of mouth as a promotion tool can be quite effective as in the case of
the Plivsko Jezerohotel. Ensuring that Muslim tourists have a good experience is
essential to guarantee positive word of mouth.
 Increased interaction is important to cut off backlash from community and non-
Muslim guests.
184 Ribić, Emina. “Interview with the Plivsko Jezero Hotel.” Khidr Travel. 27 Aug. 2015. Web.