Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Regulating Accommodation Establishments
In the OIC Member Countries
51
4 Case Studies
4.1 Malaysia
Malaysia is one of the top destinations for Muslim tourists. With a large Muslim
population of its own, Malaysia is very well equipped to serve domestic and international
Muslim tourists. Through the efforts of JAKIM, Malaysia has a strong Halal certification
body and through the Halal Development Corporation (HDC) a well-versed agency to
promote Halal products and services locally and overseas. Since it has developed one of
the first Muslim-friendly hospitality services standards in the world, Malaysia is at the
forefront of structuring Muslim-friendly hospitality regulations and is continuously
offering its assistance to other countries and organizations who wish to embark on a
similar journey.
The Muslim-Friendly Hospitality Services standard - MFHS (MS 2610:2015) is a standard
issued by the Department of Standards Malaysia. The Department of Standards Malaysia is the
national standards and accreditation body of Malaysia under the Ministry of Science,
Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI). Standards Malaysia appointed SIRIM Berhad as the
agent to develop, distribute, and sell the standard.
The creation of MFHS follows the Malaysian government’s recommendation in the Malaysian
Islamic Tourism Blueprint (Strategic Plan for Islamic Tourism Development) to develop a
benchmarking and quality assurance mechanism for Islamic Tourism in the country. This
government initiative follows the plan to establish Malaysia as one of the major Muslim
tourism hubs in the world.
The Muslim-Friendly Hospitality Services standard was developed through consensus by a
technical committee, which comprised of a balanced representation of producers, users,
consumers, and other relevant stakeholders. The approval of standard is governed by the
Standards of Malaysia Act 1996 (Act 549) and every standard is reviewed periodically. The
MFHS was published in 2015 and has not been amended since. The use and adoption of MFHS
is voluntary.
The main objective of the Muslim-Friendly Hospitality Services standard was to set up an
assurance system to preserve the integrity of products and services provided for Muslim
travellers. It was developed to ensure that products and services for Muslim travellers follow
Sharia principles. The objectives can be summarized as 112:
 Enhancing the ability of an organization or individual to produce and/or manage
Muslim-friendly tourism products and services,
 Preserving the protecting the integrity of Muslim-friendly tourism products and
services through the application of the standard, and
 Enhancing the customer satisfaction by meeting their needs and requirements.
112 MS2610:2015 – Muslim Friendly Hospitality Services – Requirements, Department of Standards, retrieved September,
2016