COMCEC Tourism Outlook-2016
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This report make the MFT definition identified six faith based needs such as halal food, Salaah
(prayer), water usage family toilets, Ramadhan services and facilities, facilities with no non-halal
activities and recreational facilities with privacy. The report also presented eight major
challenges facing future growth of MFT in the OIC Member countries.
The eight challenges are listed as follows:
1. Security concerns; Majority of Muslim tourists travel with family and generally want
more family-friendly activities such as shopping, sightseeing, theme park, nature
reserve or museum. These travelers mostly prefer the safe and secure destinations.
2. No proper identification of Halal food outlets; A number of OIC member states have not
developed a comprehensive identification process which could correctly inform tourist
that the food offered at a particularly dining establishment is Halal.
3. Limited support and participation from government to promote MFT: In many OIC
member states the government has not yet engaged the travel industry with the
development of Muslim friendly tourism. Lack of incentives and motivation by the
government to develop the tourism sector will curtail growth of the MFT market.
4. Increasing competition from non-OIC countries; Singapore, Japan and S. Korea for
example are keenly targeting the Muslim tourist. In addition, Australia and Thailand are
also seeking to attract the Muslim traveler. Halal dining establishments are available in
many of the major cities of these countries.
5. Islamophobia driven negative sentiments towards Muslim countries: The recent
incidences have resulted a negative sentiment against Muslims and Muslim countries.
6. Resistance from some travel stakeholders to develop MFT ; Due to the negative
sentiments portrayed by media when it comes to words such as Muslim, Halal, Shariah
and Islam, even local travel stakeholders in some Muslim countries are resisting the
development of MFT.
7. Limited availability of attractions including theme parks: A number of OIC member
states does not have high quality tourism infrastructure. This has hampered the growth
of not only Muslim tourism but also tourism as a whole.
8. Low air connectivity: A number of OIC member states are not on major airline routes
to major cities of the world.
To overcome these challenges, the report also provides some policy recommendations on how
OIC member states can help strengthen MFT environment through the nine key areas. These
policy recommendations are given in Table 5.1. It is evident from the study that OIC member
states need to accelerate the strategy development and execution in order to be leaders in the
MHT market.