10 On 10 With Islamic Tourism Centre

“Islamic tourism” and “Muslim-friendly accommodation” are becoming familiar terms in the tourism industry space to reflect the growing Muslim tourist market globally.

The Muslim tourist market is huge with unique needs when it comes to travelling. That’s why Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) has taken a great interest in championing the development of Islamic tourism to cater to this high-value market segment.

To learn more, we spoke to ITC Director General, Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip Hasan on this subject.

1. Are there many Muslims who travel? Well, before the pandemic, when borders were still open, we were seeing a lot of Muslim tourists traveling. In 2019, it was estimated that some 200.3 million Muslim travellers contributed USD194 billion in travel spend globally. That same year, Malaysia alone welcomed 5.33 million Muslim tourists to our shores.

The COVID-19 pandemic unfortunately has crippled growth in this sector which is only expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2023. Having said that, we believe that once borders open again, we will see a high interest in travel among Muslim tourists, insya Allah.

Therefore, as a leading destination among Muslim travellers, Malaysia must consistently position itself strongly in the marketplace. I believe that the Muslim tourist market will likely pick up travel in a big way once the Covid-19 situation improves, and thus, I call for destinations and industry players to prepare for the eventual reopening of tourism now.

2. Are Muslim tourists different from other tourists? When it comes to travel interests, Muslim tourists are just like any other tourist with varied interests and propensity to spend. Among the Muslim tourist markets known for their high consumer purchasing power are the Gulf Cooperation Council, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Iran, Turkey, Western Europe, and North America markets. However, they do have unique faith-based needs to fulfil during their travels. Key among these needs are halal food and prayer facilities. 3. But Malaysia already has plenty of halal eateries and prayer facilities for Muslims… Yes, being a majority Muslim country, we are fortunate that halal food and mosques/musollas are plentiful and easily accessible. However, ITC’s mission is to establish a standard Islamic tourism framework that can be adopted by everyone in the tourism ecosystem -- from hoteliers to tourist guides, from transportation providers to tourist attraction operators. By doing this, we can position and brand Malaysia as an ideal Islamic tourist destination, inspire confidence among Muslim travellers that they can enjoy travel without compromising their religious requirements here, and set the benchmark for other destinations to follow.

4. How does ITC help make Malaysia Muslim-friendly? One of the most basic things ITC does is to engage and train tourism industry players -- the hoteliers, the tourist guides, owners of tourist attractions, etc. to understand the Muslim tourist market and their needs. That is why the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) and ITC had focused on stakeholder training during the downtime generated from the pandemic. Our training for tourist guides, for example, includes creating awareness among tourist guides that when they lead a group of Muslim tourists for sightseeing, they need to be aware of and observe the Muslim prayer times and select only halal food establishments to dine at. Such training also ensures that safety, security, and hygienic values are incorporated in the itineraries.

ITC publishes research on diverse areas of Islamic tourism in its Islamic Tourism Journal Director General, Islamic Tourism Centre, Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip Haji Hasan

Inspection of a Silver-category Muslim-friendly hotel, Sunway Clio

From Left: ITC also conducts training on Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality and its economic potential ; Participants from all over the world attend experiential and educational training programmes by ITC to learn from Malaysia’s experience as a Muslim-friendly destination.

5. What else does ITC do? Since 2009, ITC has been advocating for Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality by organising business outreach programmes, training, consultation and technical support, commissioning research on diverse areas of Islamic tourism, and creating industry linkages worldwide to establish quality standards for Islamic tourism. We are also focussing on engaging with various partners, training institutions, and higher learning institutions, deepening our relations with industry players, and strengthening our ITC brand locally and internationally.

Essentially, our efforts are towards supporting the tourism industry players to tap the Muslim tourist market. We do this by establishing guidelines for best practices, reviewing their premises, and advising them on how best to position themselves to attract these tourists. One of the things we’ve done is by identifying Muslim-friendly accommodations in Malaysia so that Muslim tourists have a choice of staying in hotels where the facilities and services cater to their faith-based needs.

6. What are Muslim-friendly accommodations? Since 2009, ITC has been advocating for Muslimfriendly tourism and these are hotels that meet the faith-based needs of Muslim tourists. For example, these hotels have a kitchen with halal certification from JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia), at least one restaurant offering halal food and beverages prepared by Muslims, provide qibla direction in guest rooms, and have a surau/musolla with ablution facilities on the premises.

7. As a tourist, how can I be certain that these hotels are Muslim-friendly? Simply look for the Muslim-friendly Accommodation Recognition (MFAR) logo at these hotels, or ask the hotel for the MFAR certificate accorded to them by ITC. With this, you can be sure that ITC has inspected the hotel and deemed it suitable for Muslims.

For the full listing of the 44 MFAR hotels, visit www.itc.gov.my/muslim-friendly-directory or scan this QR code Guests staying at MFAR hotels have triple assurance -- from MOTAC, JAKIM, and ITC

8. So, I can be assured that these MFAR hotels are Muslim-friendly? Yes. In fact, these hotels are all registered with MOTAC in the first place for star-rating. Their kitchen facilities have been certified as halal by JAKIM. So, guests staying at MFAR hotels have triple assurance from MOTAC, from JAKIM, and from ITC.

9. But are MFAR hotels only for Muslims? Certainly not. The MFAR hotels are inclusive for both Muslim and non-Muslim guests. While these hotels have fulfilled the criteria to cater to the Muslim tourist’s faith-based needs, their rooms, services and facilities are also available for non-Muslims to enjoy.

10. Are there different categories of MFAR hotels? Yes. There are currently 44 MFAR hotels in Malaysia with different categories.

The Silver category of MFAR hotels observe the most basic of ITC’s requirements which encompass the availability of halal food at a minimum of one on-site restaurant and prayer facilities.

The Gold category of MFAR hotels fulfil the criteria mentioned above and go the extra mile to provide special hours for Muslim female guests to use the hotel facilities such as gymnasium and swimming pool.

Finally, the Platinum category of MFAR hotels have all their kitchens and dining outlets certified halal by JAKIM. Hotels within this category do not serve alcoholic beverages and employ a Shariah officer or Halal executive to monitor the compliance of its operations according to the Shariah law.