Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
80
served to Muslims, then in cooperation with other local business owners they collected
information about Halal food and where it could be found in Tokyo. Travelience then
designed a special tour package for Muslims, which included standard tourist venues, but also
lunch at a Halal restaurant and mosque visits for midday and early afternoon prayers.208
Another travel agency, Feel Japan with K, has also tried to accommodate Muslim tourists in
terms of organizing tours that fulfill their requirement of prayer areas and Halal food. On the
company website, they offer a guide to Halal restaurants in Tokyo, Hiroshima and other areas
in Japan.209
 Muslim-friendly Travel Mobile Apps and Websites
An Indonesian native, who moved to Japan and then had a frustrating experience with finding
Halal food, developed a mobile phone app named "Halalminds" in 2014 to help both Muslims
locally and visitors from overseas to locate Halal products in Japan. The app includes a Halal
restaurant locator in addition to a “Qibla compass” that designates prayer direction and also
displays daily Quran verses.210
Japan Travel Guide website offers a list of Muslim friendly hotels and restaurants in different
cities of Japan. The hotel guide includes a description of the Muslim services from having the
Qibla direction designated in the room, having Halal food sent to hotels, and offering
information about Halal food outlets and mosques in the area. The guide also informs
travelers whether the hotel has Muslim staff and if their toilets come equipped with a
handheld sprayer/shower. 211
Highlighted Product: HalalMinds Mobile Application
HalalMinds 2.0 mobile application was developed by an Indonesian PHD student studying at
Kyushu University in Japan. The application’s main features include Halal food barcode scan,
Halal restaurant finder, Qibla directions, and a Quran database. It is available for both
Android and iOS platforms, and also features Halal scanning of the bar code of drugs,
cosmetics, and food products, as well as scanning for non Halal of E numbers (food additives
codes used in European countries).
The HalalMinds team has won several awards, including a Pre-startup Award212 at Global TIC
2014, Taiwan’s largest business plan competition event and the Global Islamic Economy
Award213 for hospitality and tourism in 2014. HalalMinds 2.0, also caters for Muslims living
or travelling in Taiwan, China and South Korea.
The app developer, who is a Muslim, recognized the challenges that face Muslim travelers
visiting non-Muslim destinations in terms of finding Halal products especially in the absence
of Halal certification. In Muslim countries, for example Indonesia, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia,
it is easy to find Halal products since the certification information is available. However in
208 Penn. "Japan Embraces Muslim Visitors to Bolster Tourism."
209 “About us.” Feel Japan with K. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
210 Quigley, J. T. "Hold the Pork – This App Helps Muslims in Japan Find Often Elusive Halal Products." Tech in Asia. 21 May
2014. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
211 "Tokyo Area Muslim-Friendly Hotels."
212 Ikeda, Masaru. "Japan’s Muslim App HalalMinds Wins Startup Award in Taiwan, Poised for Asian Expansion." The
Bridge. 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
213 "2014 Islamic Economy Award Winners." Global Islamic Economy. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.