Tourism Management Perspectives 19 (2016) 121–123
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Tourism Management Perspectives
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tmp
Editorial
Halal tourism
Observers of the academic tourism research literature will have no-
ticed a growing interest in the outbound and intra-regional tourism
movements in the Islamic world. Indeed in the last five years in partic-
ular there have been an increasing number of published academic ma-
terials on this phenomenon, including books edited by Scott and Jafari
(2010), and El-Gohary and Eid (2014), while collections of conference
papers and individual journal papers on the subject have become
more common. Indeed in 2015 in New Zealand the Second Conference
on halal tourism was held at Auckland Institute of Studies in 2015 and
the third will be held at the University of Canterbury in December 2016.
The reasons for this academic interest are not difficult to ascertain,
and in one sense it is not entirely new. As a subset of pilgrimage tourism
there has always been some interest in the hajj, the pilgrimage made to
Mecca by adherents to the Islamic faith. Among the earliest English lan-
guage papers found in preparation for this special issue were the papers
by Douglas Morrison (1979) and Khogali and Al-Khawashk (1980) —
both of which were concerned with the impact of heat stroke on the pil-
grims as they circulated around the shrine at Mecca. Indeed many of the
initial papers on the hajj were concerned with medical and transporta-
tion issues and it was not until relatively recently that papers concerned
with motivations and meanings of Islamic motivated wider patterns of
travel came to be published in the tourism academic journals. Indeed
the very terminology of ‘halal tourism’ appears to be quite recent in
the academic literature, with Scopus revealing that one of the earliest
papers appeared as recently as 2010 (Battour, Ismail, & Battour, 2010).
Prior to that, the common terminology was that of ‘Islamic tourism,’ as
used, for example, by Henderson (2009).
A distinction can be made between the two terms. ‘Islamic tourism’
appears to primarily refer to travel undertaken for religious and pilgrim-
age purposes and is associated with acts of faith relating to the Islamic
religion. The main example is of course the hajj, namely the pilgrimage
to Mecca that members of the Islamic faith are required to make at least
once in their life-time. It is however only a requirement for those phys-
ically and financially able to make such a journey, and is further subject
to the caveat that the pilgrim's family can be supported during the ab-
sence of the pilgrim. ‘Halal tourism’ is tourism undertaken for recrea-
tional, leisure and social purposes, and members of the Islamic faith
travel for the same reasons that many of us wish to travel. They want
to see the world, and explore the different histories and cultures of
the world, and this is congruent with their faith as it is believed such
travel enables them to better appreciate the wonder of the world creat-
ed by God.
Like any distinction, the boundaries between definitions may be po-
rous. Travel associated with defining moments of life that have religious
connotations such as to be present at a wedding, funeral or for study
groups of the faith may also permit times for socialising and enjoyment.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2015.12.014
2211-9736/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
However, as indicated by some of the papers in this collection, a further
distinction exists between halal or approved purposes of travel, and the
haram — namely practises that are not approved by the faith (see in this
collection of papers that by Mohsin, Ramli, & Alkhulayfi, 2016).
This academic interest is paralleled by interest in the commercial
world, and indeed does little more than reflect the reality of that
world as indicated below by reference to the marketing campaigns of
individual countries. Such is the interest, there have now been a number
of trade markets, shows and summits that provide access to the
burgeoning number of products that are coming onto the market.
Batrawy (2015) provides examples of a rental company in Orlando,
Florida, that provides ‘halal vacation homes’ complete with curtained
pools, rooms with prayer mats and copies of the Koran. It is also noted
in the same article that tourists from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, The
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman will spend US$64 billion on
travel in 2015 – a figure expected to reach US$210 billion in 2030
(Batrawy, 2015).
Among the programmes and seminars on halal tourism are those
supported by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, includ-
ing the 1st Regional Seminar on the Contribution of Islamic Culture and
its Impact on the Asian Tourism Market held in Bandar Seri Begawan,
Brunei Darussalam from 16 to 17 November 2015. This seminar was
organised jointly by UNWTO and the Ministry of Primary Resources
and Tourism of Brunei Darussalam. At that seminar, the key note speak-
er, Imtiaz Muqbil (2015), provided a number of reasons to sponsor halal
tourism. These included taking advantage of the rich architectural and
heritage resources left by the growth of the Islamic faith in the past, es-
pecially as they were located in many regions characterised by relative
economic deprivation. Halal tourism thus supported a pro-poor tourism
policy. For the richer Islamic countries, such wealth they possessed was
often dependent upon oil, and hence a diversification into tourism rep-
resented a sensible policy of economic diversification. The richness of
the Islamic world in terms of creating tourism product was amply
shown with examples of best practice being cited from Brunei,
Indonesia, and the Philippines. Further evidence of those resources are
easily found, and the UNWTO Study entitled the Contribution of Islamic
Culture and its Impact on the Asian Tourism Market (2015) represents
one such source.
At much the same time (November, 2015) the First World Halal
Travel Summit and Exhibition took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates, and it is planned that this will become an annual event.
Plans for the 2016 Summit are well advanced and readers may join its
Facebook page if they so wish. Certainly the Islamic world covers a sig-
nificant part of the globe and Muqbil (2015) noted that in much of
North Africa, across the Middle East and into Asia and Indonesia there
exist countries where over 75% of the populations adhere to the faith.
122
At the World Islamic Economic Forum hosted by Dubai in October 2014
102 countries were represented.
Whether it is called ‘halal’ or ‘Islamic tourism’, what is obvious is that
as a form of tourism, the growing wealth of the Middle East countries
and those others where the Islamic faith is strong has meant that
the needs of travellers belonging to the faith have become an important
market segment. The data relating to the market place is clearly shown
in the following papers and at this stage suffice it to say that as a market
place it is worth destination marketing organisations to seriously
consider the needs of the Islamic tourist. Indeed, some countries
have very specifically sought the ‘halal tourist’ and of these countries
Malaysia has a proven success record in attracting such tourists from
the Middle East as it offers to these tourists a cultural milieu that is wel-
coming to them. Additionally it offers scenery and climatic conditions
that appeal to those coming from the generally desert like landscapes
of locations such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
For other countries with an Islamic culture, the growth of such tourism
has opened opportunities to engage in product diversification. For a
country such as Indonesia that was once primarily known (in the
West at least) for beach and sunshine holidays based on resorts such
as those of Bali, the growth of the Islamic tourism offers an opportunity
to turn to potentially higher income markets more congruent with
many of its own value systems.
While inter-Islamic country tourism flows tend to dominate the
halal tourism market such tourism is not restricted to such countries
alone. Other countries have been targeting these markets. Among
these South Korea is one such country as evidenced by its VisitKorea
website. Korea has spun off its past development of culinary and medi-
cal tourism to meet the needs of Islamic tourists, and indeed this is also
true to some extent of a country like China.
Other countries that have not been specifically known in the past for
their endorsement of the Islam have come to view halal tourism as a fur-
ther market segment akin to that of China or India — in short simply an-
other example of a growing market that offers economic advantages to
its tourism industry and wider economy. For example in September
2015 Tourism Australia co-operated with the company HalalTrip to pro-
duce a comprehensive visitor guide to Australia specifically for the halal
tourism market. Not only can the guide be printed but it is also provided
in a format for downloading for tablets and iPads (see http://www.
halaltrip.com/downloadable-halal-travel-guides/). In New Zealand
there has been similar movements, including the placing on the web
various directories that list restaurants, cafes, associations and organisa-
tion that provide services for the Muslim traveller — the New Zealand for
Muslims App (Brown, 2015).
At the 2014 1st New Zealand Halal Tourism Conference in Hamilton,
both Ryan and Mohsin separately argued that such guides can be effec-
tive in attracting the halal tourism market, and can do so by retaining
much of the material generally oriented to the wider tourism market.
As noted above, members of the Islamic faith are motivated to see the
world by the same reasons that motivate many tourists. However, pro-
viding details of mosques and sources of halal food, and indicating
where hotels can provide washing facilities associated with prayers
forms a significant reassurance factor to Muslim tourists, particularly
perhaps the more conservative. Many members of the Islamic faith
coming from the Middle East, Malaysia or indeed from countries that
have hosted various diasporas dress no differently from the members
of the tourist receiving countries, but a proportion may wish to dress ac-
cording to Islamic notions of modesty wherein many females would
wear the hijab (a headscarf that will also cover the top of the bosom)
while some adhere to the niqab or burqa, both of which hide the face.
Males would also be expected to dress in a modest fashion and some
may favour the traditional loose clothing such as the kafiyah dependent
on the country from which they come. The provision of details that re-
late to mosques etc. are interpreted by many Muslims to indicate that
they are welcome to a country, and if they do dress in a conservative
fashion, that they will not be stared at as if they were creatures from
Editorial
another world. Many may not actually attend a mosque on the Friday,
or unroll a prayer mat that may be provided in a hotel room, but the
fact that the host country seeks to make them welcome and feel at
home by the provision of such things is appreciated by the traveller
(Mohsin, 2014; Ryan, 2014, 2015), and indeed fulfils the traditional no-
tions of hospitality.
This special issue discusses these and other aspects pertaining to
halal tourism. The first paper by Mohsin et al. (2016) sets the scene by
indicating the value of the halal tourism market and the distinctions
between halal and haram. For her part Henderson (2016) indicates
how Malaysia and Indonesia have sought to attract Muslim tourists by
providing certification of food standards as they apply to halal food.
Battour and Ismail (2016) also provide a series of suggestions indicating
best practises for attracting the Islamic tourist.
For their part Zamani-Farahani and Eid (2016) discuss the relation-
ships that exist within the wider Organisation of Islamic Countries
(OIC) by providing a description of the organisation and the manner
in which it has sought to implement the decisions of the 2003 ‘Riyadh
Declaration’. As part of the patterns of exchange of investment and co-
operation within the 57 member countries, tourism has an undoubted
role, and indeed in the more than a decade since the passing of
the signing of the Declaration tourism has come to play a larger role as
the world moves into post-primary and secondary industry economics
into a world economy based on services and experiences. They also
specifically address the initiatives undertaken within the OIC to pro-
mote halal tourism and provide a useful list of these initiatives
that may help other researchers seeking to identify the progress made
in creating a homogenous product that is global in its reach. One
paper associated with these two is that of Battour and Ismail (2016)
who replicate some of the concerns expressed by the two prior papers,
and in part provide a link to the following paper by Samori and Salleh.
They discuss the terminologies of ‘halal’ and ‘Islamic’ tourism, consider
the role of halal food, but note the challenges that face halal tourism, in-
cluding issues of how it may fit in with the non-Muslim world and the
demands of tourists that emanate from that world. For example they
note that if hotels indicate they are Shariah compliant, while that
attracts the Muslim tourist, it may deter the non-Muslim. They similarly
call for an improvement in the use of social media that targets the
Muslim tourist.
For their part Samori and Salleh (2016) commence their paper by
placing the Koran at the centre of halal tourism — arguing that for the
faithful the Koran is at the centre of daily life, and thus too it should
be the starting point for any consideration of what constitutes halal
tourism. They provide the concept of purposeful tourism (Rihlah) and
consider (as do Mohsin et al. (2016) in this volume) the quranic verses
that apply to tourism as a means of better understanding God's creation.
They then proceed to provide comparative cases studies of tourism in
Malaysia as an Islamic country and Japan as a non-Islamic country, con-
cluding that as a lucrative and growing market tourism suppliers would
do well to heed the necessities associated with this market. For his part
El-Gohary (2016) also discusses the nature of halal tourism, and pro-
vides several useful indices to assess just how truly halal is the halal
tourism product, and suggests that for many cases a better description
would be ‘Muslim friendly tourism’. However, he also notes that such
tourism is not exclusive to Muslims as many would appreciate the na-
ture of such a product, especially many from more conservative aspects
of religion or those seeking family friendly accommodation.
In terms of actual product Carboni and Janati (2016) provide a case
study based upon the development of a network of bed and breakfast
accommodation providers in the Medina of Fèz by the Moroccan au-
thorities. They discuss the role of faith, the linkage of the word ‘halal’
primarily with food, and the bi-directional nature of cultural learning
that has arisen among the 30 families concerned with this initiative.
The on-the-ground ambiguities of the concept of hala tourism are clear-
ly shown — is it simply a Moroccan experience, an Islamic experience,
an experience of family based hospitality, or indeed a mix of all three
 Editorial
in which the component parts cannot be easily distinguished one from
another?
In a reference to the traditional sources of halal tourism Husein
(2016) seeks to link the concepts of the physical pilgrimage of Ramadan
to that of the internal experience, and considers the spatial and emo-
tional seasonality that is associated with this key period of fasting with-
in the Islamic religion, and its relationship with travel.
As a piece of empirical research Zarandian, Shalbafian, Ryan, and
Bidokhti (2016) provide a research note representing a small piece of
research indicating how Islamic principles inform an example of volun-
teer tourism whereby students are able to provide support to varying
communities, thus providing proof of the contention made by Muqbil
(2015) that halal tourism cannot only provide pro-poor tourism where-
by tourists aid poorer communities by their patterns of spending, but in
addition as is common with other examples of volunteer tourism
(Wearing, 2001), tourists can bring not only their money but also
their brains and arms to support such communities in a more direct
fashion.
In assembling this volume, and indeed in the preparations that were
made for the first and second New Zealand Halal Tourism Conferences
that were organised by the University of Waikato Management School
and Auckland Institute of Studies, it became clear that there was enthu-
siasm by a number of stakeholders at various levels to be supportive of
the initiative. The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand in
the person of its President Dr. Anwar Ghani, not only supported the ini-
tiative but provided funding that permitted the attendance of overseas
speakers. Several operators, notably Mohammed Kalam Alam, came in
support and spoke at the conference — and their stories were very
much the same, of how New Zealand as a tourist destination appealed
to tourists of the Islamic faith, but equally how many of these tourists
were so like many others in what they wished to do, and what it was
they wanted to see. They visited many of the same destinations as
other tourists, they went to Rotorua for Maori and geo-thermal prod-
ucts, they went to Christchurch and Queenstown. Younger tourists
wanted to cycle and go jet boating. There were many acceptable
alternatives to meat that was halal, and it was recognised that in
New Zealand the majority of abattoirs used halal forms of slaughter.
But for the most part the papers were descriptive and little empirical
research existed, and in one sense the papers in this volume are still at
the descriptive stage.
Description and observation are the starting points for research,
but when compared to other forms of tourism, halal tourism remains
in its infancy as a subject for research. It need not remain so. As an editor
I would note the increasing numbers of papers now being submitted to
this journal (and to its ‘sister’ journal ‘Tourism Management’) from
researchers in Iran and Malaysia that adopt both quantitative and
qualitative methods and cover as wide a range of subjects as other
researchers. In some senses it is only a lack of experience and the prob-
lems associated with writing in a language (English) that is not their
first that holds back many of these papers from publication, but the
technical skills are often evident. One motive for this volume was to
provide the descriptive so that in the near future other researchers
will not feel the same need to spell out the distinctive features of halal
tourism as a form of tourism consistent with the principles of the
Koran, but rather in future can progress to a more sophisticated stance
as to how in practice such principles have meaning for the visitors,
and how it shapes meanings and interpretations of the travel experi-
ences. Trinh and Ryan (2015) suggest with reference to heritage tour-
ism that culture filters perception and hence there is a ‘pull’ toward
difference interpretations of place, but the experiences of the place –
its physicality, its appeals through the senses of sight, hearing, smells,
sounds and perhaps taste — the patterns of professional selection of
stories and interpretation – all ‘push’ the tourists from different
123
nationalities and cultures toward a common understanding of place (a
slight variant of the traditional ‘pull-push’ analysis used in tourism).
So, for example, one might in halal tourism research seek to tease out
more comparative research to assess to what degree halal tourists differ,
and to what degree they are the same as others.
In a world where differences have become so important, (especially
in the tangled aftermath of western intrusion into the Arab world that
has placed the Middle East into positions of stark contrast with main-
stream western democracies), research that looks at both difference
and similarity may well have value. To quantify the extent to which
members of the Islamic faith share their human condition with those
of other religious or secular belief systems would not go amiss in this
world of the second decade of the twentieth century. So perhaps now
researchers need to progress from just description and observation of
halal tourism to more analytical processes to achieve better understand-
ing of this phenomenon.
References
Batrawy, A. (2015). ‘Halal tourism’ on the rise, with apps and curtained pool decks. http://
www.stuff.co.nz/travel/themes/family/73392534/Halal-tourism-on-the-rise-with-
apps-and-curtained-pool-decks (accessed 14th December 2015).
Battour, M., & Ismail, M. N. (2016). Halal tourism: Concepts, practices, challenges and fu-
ture. Tourism Management Perspectives, 19, 150–154.
Battour, M. M., Ismail, M. N., & Battour, M. (2010). Towards a halal tourism market.
Tourism Analysis., 15(4), 461–470.
Brown, A. (2015). Support the Working Together Group's Muslim orphanage-cum-foster
home project by downloading the New Zealand for Muslims app. Paper presented at
the 2nd New Zealand Halal Tourism Conference, Auckland Institute for Studies. As-
quith Campus, 23rd March 2015.
Carboni, M., & Janati, M. I. (2016). Halal tourism de facto: A case from Fez. Tourism
Management Perspectives, 19, 155–159.
El-Gohary, H. (2016). Halal tourism — Is it really halal? Tourism Management Perspectives,
19, 124–130.
El-Gohary, H., & Eid, R. (2014). Emerging research on Islamic marketing and tourism in the
global economy. Henley, PA.: Business Scientific Reference.
Henderson, J. C. (2009). Islamic tourism reviewed. Tourism Recreation Research, 34(2),
207–211.
Henderson, J. C. (2016). Halal food, certification and halal tourism: Insights from Malaysia
and Singapore. Tourism Management Perspectives, 19, 160–164.
Husein, U. (2016). Ramadan: The month of fasting for Muslims, and Tourism studies —
Mapping the unexplored connection. Tourism Management Perspectives, 19, 170–177.
Khogali, M., & Al-Khawashk, M. (1980). Heat stroke during the Makkah pilgrimage (hajj).
Saudi Medical Journal, 2(2), 85.
Mohsin, A. (2014). Halal tourism. Welcome Address for The 1st New Zealand Halal Tourism
Conference, Hamilton. New Zealand: University of Waikato Management School [30th
April, 2014].
Mohsin, A., Ramli, N., & Alkhulayfi, B. A. (2016). Halal tourism: Emerging opportunities.
Tourism Management Perspectives, 19, 137–143.
Morrison, D. (1979). Heatstroke on the Hajj. The Lancet, 315(8174), 935.
Muqbil, I. (2015). Contribution of the Islamic world and its impact on Asian tourism mar-
ket. Keynote presentation at the 1st regional summit on the contribution of islamic
culture and its impact on the Asian tourism market (pp. 16–17). Brunei Darussalam:
Bandar Seri Begawan [November 2015].
Ryan, C. (2014). Halal tourism: Opportunities and challenges. . Paper presented at the 1st
New Zealand Halal Tourism Conference. Hamilton, New Zealand: University of Waikato
Management School [30th April 2014].
Ryan, C. (2015). Halal tourism: Mass or niche market for New Zealand. Paper presented at
The 2nd New Zealand Halal Tourism Conference, Auckland Institute for Studies. Asquith
Campus [23rd March 2015].
Scott, N., & Jafari, J. (2010). Tourism in the Muslim world. Bingley: Emerald Press.
Trinh, H., & Ryan, C. (2015). Visitors to heritage sites: Motives, culture and involvement —
A model and textual analysis. Journal of Travel Research..
Wearing, S. (2001). Volunteer tourism: Experiences that make a difference. Wallingford:
CAB International.
Zamani-Farahani, H., & Eid, R. (2016). The muslim world: A study of tourism & pilgrimage
among OIC member states. Tourism Management Perspectives, 19, 144–149.
Zarandian, N., Shalbafian, A., Ryan, C., & Bidokhti, A. A. (2016). Islamic pro-poor and vol-
unteer tourism — The impacts on tourists: A case study of Shabake Tlayedarin Jihad,
Teheran — A research note. Tourism Management Perspectives, 19, 165–169.
Chris Ryan
E-mail address: caryan@waikato.ac.nz.