The Future of Islamic Tourism: A Perspective Study of Muslim Non-Arabic Countries and Non-Muslim Countries Halal Growth

Abstract

Despite of the popularity of the Islamic tourism or halal tourism in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries, there have been little systematic effort to explore the topic. The paper aims to explore the concept and eliminate the controversies and ambiguities surrounding their definition, connotation and context which has the potential to adversely affect communication of tour packages to the target customers. The study also takes a look at the future of the industry and provides some useful recommendations. The research is based on a purely qualitative approach and attempts to undertake a critical analysis of the existing literature. In addition, qualitative semi-structured interviews are also carried out with 10 participants’ from tourism industry. The study establishes a rising demand for Islamic tourism, both in the traditional Islamic countries and the non-traditional non-Muslim countries. The study reveals an opportunity to develop unique Islamic tourism packages such as Islamic cruises and Islamic villages that showcase the Islamic cultural heritage. However, there are expected in terms of various security concerns in the Middle East region and intensified competition. The study recommends stakeholders to creatively and innovatively design Islamic tour packages in order to achieve competitiveness.

Keywords: Islamic, Tourism, Halal, Non-Muslim, Shariah, Innovation, Creativity, Islamic tour packages

DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-29-06

Publication date:October 31^st 2019