Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Regulating Accommodation Establishments
In the OIC Member Countries
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If none of the currently available standards is suitable for a country’s unique requirements, it
is recommended to follow certain steps to establish an MFT standard. These steps, which are
outlined in the figure below, are based on findings from the case studies, interviews, and
research on existing standards.
Figure 22: Steps for Setting up a Standard
Source: DinarStandard
As indicated in the chart above, it is recommended to follow the following steps to develop an
MFT standard:
 Appoint authority responsible for national or regional standard
MFT standards are typically developed by the national standard setting body, such
as Standards Malaysia and the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE); or by the
tourism ministry, as in the case of the MFT standard being developed by the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey; or by Islamic authorities in the non-OIC
countries, as is the case in Croatia. Whereas many mainstream accommodation
standards are developed by industry associations. Under all conditions, a
responsible body, which is well connected with both the government and the
stakeholders, has to be granted the authority to produce the standard.
 Establish a committee with all stakeholders represented
A core committee responsible for developing the standard needs to be established.
It should consist of stakeholders from the tourism ministry, the standard setting
Promote standard
Issue Standard
Train auditors/inspectors
Develop draft standard, share with wider group of stakeholders for commentary
Conduct in-depth interviews and surveys with the accommodation sector, consumers,
certifiers and other stakeholders
Review existing standards
Establish a committee with all stakeholders represented
Appoint authority responsible for national/regional standard