Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Regulating Accommodation Establishments
In the OIC Member Countries
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agency, accommodation industry associations, and Sharia’ experts. The private
sector, through industry associations, should be heavily involved in developing the
standard as they have the technical expertise. This will also ensure their agreement
with the standard to increase adoption rates. In case of the development of a
regional standard, the committee should include representation from all countries
in the region where the standard will be applied.
 Review existing standards
Existing MFT standards should be reviewed to learn from best practices and to
replicate relevant features. It is also important to keep open communication
channels with individuals responsible for developing other MFT standards to stay
informed of the latest developments in the area of MFT standards.
 Conduct in-depth interviews and surveys with the accommodation sector,
consumers, certifiers and other stakeholders
Primary research should be conducted to identify the needs, preferences and
challenges of all stakeholders. It is recommended to conduct in-depth interviews
and surveys with consumers, the accommodation sector, certifiers, and other
stakeholders.
 Develop a draft standard, and share with a wider group of stakeholders for
commentary
The committee should develop a draft standard based on consumer and industry
feedback while taking into consideration best practices from existing MFT standards
and input of all stakeholders. This draft standard should be shared with a wider
group of stakeholders including travel agencies, travel associations, regulators, etc.
 Train auditors/inspectors
The auditors or inspectors who will be performing the inspections need to be
thoroughly trained. They need to be familiar with operational details of the
accommodation sector, as inspecting hotel facilities and services requires distinct
skills from Halal food audits. It is important to prepare a Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP) document for certifiers, to be used in combination with the
standard as a guideline to inspectors.
 Issue Standard
Once the final draft of the standard is reviewed and approved by all stakeholders, it
can be formally released. All stakeholders should be informed of the release date.
 Promote standard
To promote a standard to all stakeholders as well as to consumers, several
strategies can be used including holding press conferences to announce the release
of the standard, conducting informational seminars for the industry, and liaising
with stakeholders to promote within their circles.