COMCEC Tourism Outlook-2016
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Table 5.1 Policy Recommendations to Improve MFT Environment in OIC Member States
1. Setting an overall MFT market goal to
encourage growth in the MFT sector in
OIC member states.
In order to encourage the member states to make
MFT one of the main segments of tourist arrivals
to the country, it was recommended to agree on a
goal of attracting 100 million Muslim visitor
arrivals to OIC destinations in 2020.
2. Increasing awareness of the MFT
market
Increasing awareness of the MFT market among
the travel industry stakeholders by rolling out
guidelines, workshops, training etc.
3. Implementing and streamlining the
basic MFT related services.
Some actions can be taken for meeting the need for
provisioning of prayer facilities, Halal food outlets
and water friendly toilets at Airports, Highway
stops, hotels/resorts, attractions and other travel
services.
4. Maximizing the inherent strengths of
OIC member states.
OIC member states have rich Islamic history,
Islamic heritage and Islamic elements of providing
hospitality. These inherent strengths can be
utilized to provide visitors a unique experience.
5. Capturing opportunities in the niche
sub-segment within MFT.
There is a lack of supply for the sub-segment of
Muslim visitor who are looking for facilities and
services which do not have non-halal activities as
well as recreational facilities and services which
provide privacy. Some OIC destinations could look
at getting a certain percentage of hospitality
services catering to this need.
6. Developing healthcare services and
facilities for the Muslim market.
OIC member states could look at identifying
strengths of healthcare services among the OIC
member states, and develop specialized hubs of
healthcare services.
7. Developing an MFT alliance. Travel agents and tour operators are able to play a
key role in enabling the growth of the MFT market
in OIC destinations. Launching of an alliance of
Travel Agents/Tour operators in OIC countries
targeting the MFT market was recommended.
8. Developing an environment for
innovation and entrepreneurship on MFT
related products and services.
The environment in which tourism companies
operate is rapidly changing and there is generally
more volatility, uncertainty and complexity. As
such it is necessary to develop an incubation setup
to encourage start-ups and entrepreneurs to
develop products and services for the MFTmarket.
9. Developing unique MFT based
destination positioning and marketing.
Currently very limited efforts have been made by
OIC member states to reach out to the Muslim
travelers with a clear MFT centric destination
positioning. This is a broad area and requires the
development of a comprehensive plan to position
and promote the OIC destinations as the choice
destinations for Muslims, especially the leisure
travelers.