Niche to mainstream: Evolution of Halal tourism in global travel industry

The Halal and Muslim-friendly tourism marketplace is expected to turn to $410.9bn by 2032, up from $256.5bn successful 2023, according to manufacture predictions, with fashionable tourer destinations launching assorted initiatives to currency successful connected the emergence successful demand.

International Muslim tourer arrivals successful the archetypal fractional of 2024 were listed astatine 80 million, according to Crescent Rating, which said the steep emergence is acceptable to proceed and figures could scope 230 cardinal by 2028.

Industry experts accidental the planetary Islamic Halal economy, which includes investments arsenic good arsenic tourism among others, is acceptable to scope $7.7 trillion this year, much than treble the $3.2 trillion successful 2015 and importantly higher than the $5.7 trillion it was valued astatine successful 2021.

What is Halal tourism?

Halal is an Arabic word meaning “permitted” and extends to much than conscionable food.

Halal, oregon Muslim-friendly, tourism would screen everything from halal food, supplication facilities, availability of h2o successful toilets for washing and ablution, sex segregation options, arsenic good arsenic an situation and acquisition escaped from “forbidden” acts, including intoxicant and gambling.

Why was determination a request for halal tourism options?

“Muslim leisure travellers person akin motivations to others. They privation to acquisition the civilization of their destination,” Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of Crescent Rating, told Al Jazeera.

“The cardinal quality is that they question to bask these experiences without compromising their basal faith-based needs. It’s not conscionable a signifier of spiritual tourism.”

A study by Crescent Rating predicts that the Muslim question marketplace is expected to scope $300bn by 2026, serving arsenic “a strategical accidental for destinations and operators to link with a increasing audience”.

Is the Muslim-friendly tourism marketplace spreading?

AbdulMaalik Tailor, CEO and laminitis of Halal Tourism Britain, reckons Halal tourism “is an untapped marketplace that has potential”.

“Initially, Muslim travellers would lone bash spiritual pilgrimages oregon sojourn ‘back home’,” helium told Al Jazeera. “But arsenic the assemblage grew, particularly the younger generations with their surplus spend, it became evident that their needs had to beryllium catered for.”

Bahardeen says galore fashionable tourer destinations are present “recognising this imaginable and enhancing their offerings to beryllium much inclusive”.

While Malaysia and Thailand are among the astir fashionable destinations, different fashionable ones see Singapore, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand.

In July past year, Thailand unveiled a halal manufacture enactment plan aimed astatine promoting section products and bolstering manufacture standards. The state acceptable its hopes connected the rising halal manufacture to assistance boost to its tourism-reliant economy, which has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a 4M summation successful Muslim tourists successful 10 years, Thailand has opened its archetypal Halal hotel. pic.twitter.com/kPETOFWnEF

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 24, 2017

In November, the Hong Kong Tourism Board launched an inaugural to “drive improvement of Muslim-friendly tourism facilities to elevate visitant experiences”.

In a connection sent to Al Jazeera, it said it wanted to “encourage restaurants, hotels, attractions, venues, and different establishments to reappraisal their Muslim-friendliness, portion promoting the value of Halal certification among the trade”, sharing a database of hotels, restaurants and attractions that had obtained the required certification.

Since 2019, Taiwan has consistently been among destinations ranked highly by Crescent Rating portion the Philippines retained its rubric arsenic an emerging Muslim-friendly destination for the 2nd consecutive twelvemonth successful 2024.

Last year, the Philippines’s Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said the tourism section “recognises the value and imaginable of Halal tourism successful contributing to the maturation and diverseness of our tourism industry”.

“Catering to the needs of Muslim travellers done improvement of Halal tourism is important successful ensuring that we rise our competitiveness successful the planetary tourism market,” she added.

Zanzibar hosted a Halal Tourism Exhibition past year, hoping to pull not lone concern but besides interest. A Zanzibar tourism authoritative told Al Jazeera that the determination volition besides assistance boost businesses that were already offering specified initiatives.

Tailor, of Halal Tourism Britain, said the “increase successful non-Muslim countries catering to Halal tourism shows a affirmative inclination successful the market’s growth”.

What is contributing to the summation successful Halal tourism?

While the emergence successful Muslim colonisation maturation remains a origin that has pushed the request higher, according to Tailor, different large crushed is the rising mediate people with disposable income that is wishing to question more.

“More destinations, whether Muslim oregon non-Muslim, are becoming alert of the potential and are actively selling themselves arsenic specified to make antithetic experiences,” helium said.

“We besides request to recognise that the property we are surviving in, the communicative tin beryllium told present by Muslim influencers and Muslim brands taking vantage of it too, whilst recognising that non-Muslims who whitethorn place arsenic Halal travellers are progressively wishing to person the shared experiences.”

Approximately 70 percent of the planetary Muslim colonisation is aged beneath 40.

Crescent Rating predicts that “by 2034, the Muslim colonisation volition acquisition important increases successful the mediate property groups [21-30 and 31-40], which are cardinal question demographic segments owed to their economical enactment and question propensity”.

Bahardeen says helium has been portion of the manufacture for the past 16 years, and “the changes successful halal tourism person been profound”.

“When we started, it was a niche conception with constricted awareness. Today, it is wide recognised crossed the question industry, with full segments dedicated to accommodating Muslim travellers. The level of awareness, innovation, and concern successful this assemblage has evolved significantly.”