Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Regulating Accommodation Establishments
In the OIC Member Countries
40
Croatia’s MFT Standard
In Croatia, the Center for Halal Quality Certification has taken the lead on the issue of MFT
accommodation standards. Prompted by an initial request from a local hotel to be certified79,
the Center has formulated specific guidelines for hotels to get Halal certification, while
adopting pre-existing Bosnian standards for the Halal food/restaurant side of the hotel.80
The Center plays a wide-ranging role; it reviews applications from hotels, trains them, and
then inspects them to evaluate whether or not they meet the standard.81 The Center for Halal
Quality Certification is the sole source of MFT standards and certifications in Croatia, having
been empowered by an agreement with the government and consumer protection laws that
prevent hotels from self-certifying on MFT attributes.82
Salam Standard
The Salam Standard originated in Malaysia in 2015; it was introduced by a travel company,
Lagisatu Travel . Over 50,000 Muslim travelers provided feedback about key
MFT criteria to help shape the Salam Standard.83 Salam Standard criteria are relatively easy
to measure and adopt. Lagisatu Travel has a large database and pre-existing relationships
with thousands of self-reporting accommodation providers. International adoption of the
standard appears to be broad, however, there are no inspections of hotels to verify the level of
MFT services provided.
Turkey’s MFT Standards and Regulations
Both the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE) are
working on the development of MFT sector. The former is focused on developing Turkey’s
tourism sector, while the latter is acting in response to demand from accommodation
providers. TSE developed its voluntary standard over two and a half years by convening a
committee with representative stakeholders, developing a draft, soliciting feedback from a
broader network of stakeholders, revising and approving the draft, and finally publishing the
standard in 2016. The Ministry started its regulations’ development process in 2016 by
following a similar process. 84 85
SMIIC
The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), which is an institution
working under Organization of Islamic Cooperation (the OIC), is also developing an MFT
standard in response to requests from the OIC member countries, and from the tourism
industry.86 SMIIC’s TC5 Tourism Related Standard is expected to be launched in 2017. As with
other standards that SMIIC has developed, its Standardization Department has established a
79 Telephone interview for MFT Standards. 8 Sep. 2016.
80 Croatia. Centre for Halal Quality Certification. Draft Croatian Halal Standard – BAS 1049 :2010). Zagreb: Centre for Halal
Quality Certification, 2013. Print.
81 Croatia. Centre for Halal Quality Certification. Regulations on Certification and Categorization: Accommodation Facilities
(as Required, Halal Quality). Zagreb: Centre for Halal Quality Certification, 2015. Print.
82 Croatia. Centre for Halal Quality Certification. Regulations on Certification and Categorization: Accommodation Facilities
(as Required, Halal Quality). Zagreb: Centre for Halal Quality Certification, 2015. Print.
83 PTI. "World's First Hotel Standard for Muslim Travellers Launched." The New Indian Express. New Indian Express, 21 Oct.
2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
84 Personal interview for MFT Standards. 27 Sept. 2016.
85 Personal interview for MFT Standards. 23 Sept. 2016.
86 Personal interview for MFT Standards. September 2016.