Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Regulating Accommodation Establishments
In the OIC Member Countries
10
Introduction and Methodology
Project Objectives
The objective of this Study is to enable all Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT) stakeholders to:
 Examine the status of MFT regulations (standards, guidelines or other regulations) for
accommodation establishments in the OIC member countries and compare them with
conventional tourism quality standards.
 Identify challenges in the current implementation of MFT regulations, and the lessons
learned from current practices.
 Draft guidelines for accommodation establishments and policy recommendations for the
OIC member countries seeking to establish MFT standards.
Methodology
The study combines primary and secondary research tools and sources to fulfill its objectives:
 Primary Research: A number of tools/strategies were used including;
 Consumer Survey: The Survey was conducted in 2016 from September 9th to October
8th to ascertain consumer needs and expectations in terms of MFT regulations for
accommodation establishments. The survey received 514 responses from 44
countries; slightly more than a third of the sample (35%) resided in GCC countries,
28% resided in Southeast Asia, and 17% resided in Europe and North America. The
sample consisted of;
o 68% female and 32%male respondents.
o 44% of respondents were aged less than 30, 31% were aged from 31-40, 15%
were aged from 41-50 and the rest were aged over 50.
o 49% of respondents were married with children, 35% were single, 10% were
married without children and the rest were engaged, divorced or widowed.
o 53% of respondents completed university/college, 29% held a postgraduate
degree, 14% had a school degree and the rest completed trade or technical
schools.
o A third of the sample (34%) were private sector employees, 18% homemakers,
14% students, 12% government employees, 9% unemployed, 7% business
owners, 4% freelancers and 2% were retired.
o Half of the respondents reported earning less than $20,000 a year, 22% earned
between $20,000 and $39,999 and the rest earned more than $40,000 annually.
 Government Officials Interviews: Interviews were conducted online in 2016 from
September 9th to November 8th to identify current and planned government policies
and challenges related to MFT regulation in the accommodation sector. Government
officials from the following countries provided responses for the online interview
questions: Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malaysia, Mali, Turkey, Uganda, and