Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Regulating Accommodation Establishments
In the OIC Member Countries
5
There are a number of common elements measured by current MFT standards, such as having
Halal food, Qibla sign, and the inclusion of a bidet or hand spray in toilets. Other elements,
such as a separate beach for women or supplying guests with lists of mosques and nearby
eateries, are measured by a few MFT standards. It is important to note that some MFT
standards may have a scoring system with various levels while other have only a single level
certification. All of the current MFT standards seem to acknowledge the importance of
certifying Halal food, which is a major concern for Muslim travelers as previous research
studies have indicated.
The main limitations of existing MFT standards is the low level of awareness of MFT
standards in general as illustrated by the results of the consumer survey in addition to the
low level of involvement of the various stakeholders in developing the standards, which
affects the level of adoption. The main drawback of some of the private standards is their self-
reporting model as they can lose credibility with consumers in case of inconsistencies
between the expected and actual MFT services provided.
Main Challenges: Challenges facing the development of MFT standards include the different
interpretations of “Halal” in the accommodation context according to madhabs and level of
practice as well as the different needs of Muslim and non-Muslim guests. The conflict between
MFT and conventional quality standards requirements in some cases, and the complexity of
evaluating Halal elements in the hospitality industry due to its wide range of constantly
evolving products, also pose a challenge to MFT standards’ development. Furthermore, the
shortage of experienced inspectors, who are well versed in the accommodation sector, poses
a serious challenge to implementing the standards once they are developed.
In terms of standard adoption, MFT standards, especially if voluntary, have a low adoption
rate by accommodation providers. Many hotel operators are reluctant to adopt out of fear of
alienating non-Muslim guests. Cost of adding MFT services that certain standards are
measuring deter some hotels from adopting an MFT standard. The complexity of the
procedures for adoption, implementation and inspection also pose a challenge for hotels
seeking to become MFT certified. The emergence of multiple MFT standards could also be a
hindrance to the development of the MFT sector, as the consumer survey indicated that a
large percent of Muslim travelers (61%) would find the presence of multiple standards to be
confusing which would negate the marketing benefits that hotels seek in adopting MFT
standards.
Lessons Learnt: Some of the current MFT standards have employed a number of successful
strategies to deal with the challenges facing the development, implementation and adoption
of the standards. In developing standards, feedback is collected from many key stakeholders
in “Halal” and accommodation sectors and all MFT key terms are consistently defined, as in
the case of Malaysia. To facilitate implementation, training on standards is provided. To
increase standard adoption, standards are simplified and self-evaluation is allowed as an
initial step. There are also some important lessons to be learned from Muslim-Friendly
standards in other areas of the Islamic Economy, including Halal food. These include mutual
recognition of different regional standards, benefiting from the valuable know-how of existing
accreditation and certification players, avoiding potential conflicts of interest between
accreditation and certification roles, engaging stakeholders through consultation and
coordination and training, and minimizing the cost of accreditation and certification.