The Halal and Muslim-friendly tourism market is anticipated to develop to $410.9bn by 2032, up from $256.5bn in 2023, in keeping with business predictions, with in style vacationer locations launching varied initiatives to money in on the rise in demand.
Worldwide Muslim vacationer arrivals within the first half of 2024 had been listed at 80 million, in keeping with Crescent Ranking, which mentioned the steep rise is ready to proceed and figures might attain 230 million by 2028.
Trade consultants say the worldwide Islamic Halal economic system, which incorporates investments in addition to tourism amongst others, is ready to succeed in $7.7 trillion this yr, greater than double the $3.2 trillion in 2015 and considerably increased than the $5.7 trillion it was valued at in 2021.
What’s Halal tourism?
Halal is an Arabic time period that means “permitted” and extends to extra than simply meals.
Halal, or Muslim-friendly, tourism would cowl every part from halal meals, prayer amenities, availability of water in bathrooms for laundry and ablution, gender segregation choices, in addition to an surroundings and expertise free from “forbidden” acts, together with alcohol and playing.
Why was there a necessity for halal tourism choices?
“Muslim leisure travellers have related motivations to others. They wish to expertise the tradition of their vacation spot,” Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of Crescent Ranking, instructed Al Jazeera.
“The important thing distinction is that they search to get pleasure from these experiences with out compromising their primary faith-based wants. It’s not only a type of non secular tourism.”
A report by Crescent Ranking predicts that the Muslim journey market is anticipated to succeed in $300bn by 2026, serving as “a strategic alternative for locations and operators to attach with a rising viewers”.
Is the Muslim-friendly tourism market spreading?
AbdulMaalik Tailor, CEO and founding father of Halal Tourism Britain, reckons Halal tourism “is an untapped market that has potential”.
“Initially, Muslim travellers would solely do non secular pilgrimages or go to ‘again dwelling’,” he instructed Al Jazeera. “However because the neighborhood grew, particularly the youthful generations with their surplus spend, it grew to become obvious that their wants needed to be catered for.”
Bahardeen says many in style vacationer locations at the moment are “recognising this potential and enhancing their choices to be extra inclusive”.
Whereas Malaysia and Thailand are among the many hottest locations, different in style ones embrace Singapore, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand.
In July final yr, Thailand unveiled a halal business motion plan aimed toward selling native merchandise and bolstering business requirements. The nation set its hopes on the rising halal business to assist enhance to its tourism-reliant economic system, which has struggled for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic.
With a 4M enhance in Muslim vacationers in 10 years, Thailand has opened its first Halal lodge. pic.twitter.com/kPETOFWnEF
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 24, 2017
In November, the Hong Kong Tourism Board launched an initiative to “drive growth of Muslim-friendly tourism amenities to raise customer experiences”.
In an announcement despatched to Al Jazeera, it mentioned it wished to “encourage eating places, inns, points of interest, venues, and different institutions to evaluation their Muslim-friendliness, whereas selling the significance of Halal certification among the many commerce”, sharing a listing of inns, eating places and points of interest that had obtained the required certification.
Since 2019, Taiwan has persistently been amongst locations ranked extremely by Crescent Ranking whereas the Philippines retained its title as an rising Muslim-friendly vacation spot for the second straight yr in 2024.
Final yr, the Philippines’s Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco mentioned the tourism division “recognises the importance and potential of Halal tourism in contributing to the expansion and variety of our tourism business”.
“Catering to the wants of Muslim travellers via growth of Halal tourism is essential in guaranteeing that we elevate our competitiveness within the international tourism market,” she added.
Zanzibar hosted a Halal Tourism Exhibition final yr, hoping to draw not solely funding but additionally curiosity. A Zanzibar tourism official instructed Al Jazeera that the transfer may even assist enhance companies that had been already providing such initiatives.
Tailor, of Halal Tourism Britain, mentioned the “enhance in non-Muslim nations catering to Halal tourism reveals a constructive development available in the market’s development”.
What’s contributing to the rise in Halal tourism?
Whereas the rise in Muslim inhabitants development stays an element that has pushed the demand increased, in keeping with Tailor, one other main purpose is the rising center class with disposable earnings that’s wishing to journey extra.
“Extra locations, whether or not Muslim or non-Muslim, have gotten conscious of the potential and are actively advertising themselves as such to create completely different experiences,” he mentioned.
“We additionally must recognise that the age we live in, the narrative will be instructed now by Muslim influencers and Muslim manufacturers benefiting from it too, while recognising that non-Muslims who could establish as Halal travellers are more and more wishing to have the shared experiences.”
Roughly 70 p.c of the worldwide Muslim inhabitants is aged under 40.
Crescent Ranking predicts that “by 2034, the Muslim inhabitants will expertise substantial will increase within the center age teams [21-30 and 31-40], that are key journey demographic segments as a result of their financial exercise and journey propensity”.
Bahardeen says he has been a part of the business for the final 16 years, and “the adjustments in halal tourism have been profound”.
“After we began, it was a distinct segment idea with restricted consciousness. Immediately, it’s broadly recognised throughout the journey business, with complete segments devoted to accommodating Muslim travellers. The extent of consciousness, innovation, and funding on this sector has advanced considerably.”