Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
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4. MFT Products and Services
 Muslim-friendly Hotels
Muslim-friendly Hotels in Malaysia have been learning models for the rest of the world.
Coming under the banner of “Dry hotels”, these establishments provide basic necessities such
as Halal food and prayer room facilities with the Qibla direction on the ceiling. Every room is
equipped with the Qibla direction, a prayer mat as well as toilets equipped with a handheld
sprayer/shower in the washrooms. All the food and beverage eateries are Halal certified by
the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM).
Hotels applying for a conventional star rating to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture have
conditions that directly relate to being Muslim-friendly. These minimum Muslim-friendly
criteria are already in place along with a host of other general criteria before hotels can be
considered for the conventional star rating.
Hotels wishing to embrace a more thorough Muslim-Friendly environment have the option of
adopting the existing Muslim-friendly Hospitality Services standard.
Featured hotel: PNB Perdana on the Park, Kuala Lumpur
PNB Perdana on the Park Hotel and Suites in Kuala Lumpur began operation in 2000. It is the
first Muslim-friendly hospitality brand in Malaysia. The hotel offers many other facilities
besides accommodation such as two Halal certified restaurants, function rooms, swimming
pool with segregated timings for males and females, gymnasium, squash court and tennis
court.
B eing labelled as a Muslim-friendly ‘Dry hotel’, PNB Perdana on the Park consider themselves
as Muslim-friendly in all aspects including their offered products and services, operations and
management. Being a Dry hotel, alcohol is not served on the hotel premises and all food and
beverage eateries are Halal certified by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia
(JAKIM). Every room is equipped with the Qibla direction, a prayer mat, and a handheld
sprayer/shower in the washrooms.
PNB Perdana on the Park encompasses Muslim-friendly as a management style. Any
management meeting is initiated with the recitation of a Dua (Muslim prayer) as well as the
recitation of Quran. This is followed by a 10 to 15 minutes period of Tazkirah whereby the
Islamic Shariah and Quality Officer at PNB gives a talk on topics relating to Islam and the
lessons to be learned. There is a prayer room dedicated to PNB staff and they are provided
with prayer breaks especially on Fridays.220
 Muslim-friendly Travel Agencies
Tour guides and tour agencies have been quick to package Malaysia’s Muslim-friendly
facilities. Lintas Travel Services Sdn Bhd is a Malaysian travel agency that provides Muslim
Tour Packages. They offer a wide array of destination selections in Asia, Middle East and
Europe. Lintas also provided Umrah and Hajj services customized to accommodate the unique
preferences of individuals or larger teams travelling for the pilgrimage.
Innovative portals such as Tripfez have begun operation to project Muslim-friendly
accommodation and tours–both within Malaysia and outside–to the rest of the global Muslim-
220 Interview with Zaid Jamaluddin, March 2016.