Availability of Friendly Islamic Tourism Facilities in Jordan

Halal tourism, also known as Islamic tourism, is a new pattern of tourism that emerged after 9/11 made travel to the United States and Europe more dangerous for Muslims. Hotels and other tourism businesses are adapting their practices to suit these travelers, providing them with Halal products and programming. This study aims to gauge the degree to which these features can be found in hotels in Jordan, as well as Jordanian businesses’ awareness of Halal tourism. Based on the results of a survey provided to 29 hotels across Jordan, Jordanian hotels share many features of ‘Halal hotels’, though this may be due to Jordan’s large Muslim population. Jordanian awareness of Halal tourism is growing, and many of the hotels surveyed plan to incorporate more aspects of Halal tourism into their own programming..

conservatively-dressed staff and segregated leisure time may appeal to conservative religious groups El-Gohary, (2016).
The concept of Halal tourism arose due to the restructuring of the flows of tourism in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks Carboni, Perelli, & Sistu, (2014). Some non-Muslim countries made it more difficult for residents of some Arab countries to visit through the implementation of new regulations against travel Jafari & Scott, (2014). Islamophobia rose greatly after 9/11, and Muslim tourists were faced with new challenges in the United States and Europe, leading them to seek out other destinations where they may feel safer. Many Muslim and Arab tourists are avoiding travel to Europe and North America, switching to other, often Muslim, countries Attaalia, Hussein, & Qaddahat, (2016). While the Halal tourism industry is growing rapidly, it lacks the institutionalization of other, more eurocentric, tourisms Neveu, (2010). AAAA (1111) suggests that rather than viewing these new touristic currents in the same way as we do those from Europe or as something entirely alien, that we view all currents through a new paradigm, seeking to create new patterns out of the differences between them Cohen & Cohen, (2015).
Many countries, regardless of the size of their Muslim populations, are adapting to suit the needs of the growing number of Muslim tourists. A study was conducted by Premium Europe in 2016 to gauge what Muslim tourists' most-wanted hotel features were. Countries such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, and China have all developed Halal options for Muslim tourists, developing websites and guides to serve them Chon, Oktadiana, & Pearce, 2016, Xiucheng & Yousaf, (2018. Hotels in Thailand are offering apps to help locate shopping centers and other destinations with prayer rooms Battor & Ismail, (2016). Crescentrating developed a guide to the basic terminology of Halal tourism, designed for use by hotels in non-Muslim-majority countries (Crescentrating, n.d.) Turkey is considered to be a moderate Muslim country, with a large Muslim population and a secular government. Tourism was already a major market for Turkey, before 9/11, and they have made major moves to accommodate Muslim tourists since then. Turkey has its own organization for Halal certification, known as GIMDES, which many countries lack Chon, Oktadiana, & Pearce, (2016). Crescent Tours and Islamic Travels in Turkey have developed 'Halal Holiday' packages Battour & Ismail, (2016). In some cases, individual companies are investing in Halal tourism outside the boundaries of any individual country. In collaboration with the Islamic company Financial Guidance Group, Kempinski Hotels are expanding outside of Turkey, constructing 30 Halal hotels across Africa, the Persian Gulf, and Europe Namin, (2013). The Fusion Tour Company, also based out of Turkey, is currently working on creating Halal cruises Battour & Ismail, (2016).
Maybe the greatest change can be seen in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country. Malaysia is also considered a moderate Muslim country, like Turkey. Under a government-promoted program, Malaysia has made many adaptations in order to appeal to Muslim tourists from the Gulf, adding Arabic to menus, brochures and signs, recruiting Arabic-speaking staff, providing more Halal food, and requiring malls and other destinations to have prayer rooms and ablution facilities Khalid, Salleh & Samori, (2016).
Jordan, as a Muslim-majority country in the Middle East, may be a step ahead of other countries in adapting its' hotels to suit the needs of Muslim travelers. Many of the requirements of Halal tourism, such as ablution facilities, prayer rooms on site, and Halal food may already be in place at hotels and tourist destinations due to the needs of many Jordanians. It has already been stated that many Muslim tourists prefer going to other Muslim-majority countries, as they feel safer Carboni, Perelli, & Sistu, (2014).
Jordan is not new to the concept of religious tourism, and has been promoting Christian tourism to the region since the 1940's Neveu, (2010). Since 2001, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has focused on the reconstruction and promotion of mausoleums of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad. Travel agencies within Jordan have developed Islamic tours, which focus on Islamic sites and cater to the needs of Muslims, providing them with Halal products and services Jordan Tours, (2018). However, difficulties can arise in the differences between Muslim communities in different countries. While Islam has spread to a global scale, it is not monolithic, with local Muslim communities holding a variety of different beliefs Jafari & Scott, (2014). The way that Jordan has gone about encouraging religious tourism highlights these differences within the global Muslim community. The promotion of these historical pre-Islamic mausoleums, while it may seem to promote religious tourism to the region, may stand in the way of potential tourists from more conservative areas such as Saudi Arabia that may reject these figures.
A previous study from 2016 by Qaddahat and Attaalia aimed to determine the major prospects and challenges of halal tourism in Jordan and Egypt. They found that generally, awareness of Halal tourism was low, but that in some regards, hotels and airlines were in line with its principles. Ultimately, they determined that the main deterrents for the incorporation of Halal tourism were its high costs, and the political climate Attaalia & Qaddahat, (2016). This study is attempting to build off of their findings and gauge hotel's willingness to adopt new practices as the number of Muslim tourists worldwide has increased.

Data and Methods:
The data used in this study was taken through a field survey. This survey took place between November 2018 and March 2019. 29 hotels, located in either Amman, Petra, Madaba, or Aqaba, were sent a questionnaire, created by the researchers. The questionnaire was designed to determine whether or not the hotels were engaged with the principles of Halal tourism, containing 32 questions, classified into three groups. Each question was based on one of the various special services that may be sought out by Muslim tourists. In their response, the hotel could indicate whether or not the service was available or not available, and whether or not they were considering making it available in the future.
The first group of questions addressed the staff working in the hotels and their awareness of the concepts behind Halal tourism. Questions focused on the dress codes in place at the hotel, whether or not the staff knew about Halal tourism, and if Islamic rules were considered in advertising the hotel. The second group of questions addressed which Halal products and services the surveyed hotels provided. These questions focused on the facilities provided to guests and whether or not they were separated by gender, the availability of facilities and items important to Islam, such as prayer rooms, Qur'ans, Kiblah indicators, and ablution facilities, as well as the food served by the hotel. The third group of questions were about the role of government policies in spreading awareness of Halal tourism. These questions asked about the presence of special initiatives to promote Halal tourism, any workshops or seminars given to the company about Halal tourism, and any future plans to in the area of Halal tourism. At the end of the questionnaire, the hotels were asked questions regarding their classification, what services they provided, their area of operation, the number of personnel working on-site, and the hotel's occupancy rate. Are there any plans to take specific initiatives by your company in the area of Islamic tourism in the next few years?

Results and Discussion:
The data obtained from this survey is simple and descriptive. It can help us understand the ways in which hotels are engaging with the ideas of Halal tourism and how they plan to adapt their practices in the future to better suit the needs of Muslim tourists. The categories that are the most covered make sense considering that Jordan is a Muslim-majority country. Having prayer rooms on site and temporary ones for events make sense to already have in Jordan, even before the new wave of Halal tourists. The same goes for the amenities provided in rooms, such as Qiblah indicators and water-spraying toilets. In the same vein, it makes sense that most of the hotels only offer Halal food and that around half of them have separate facilities for preparing food with pork. All of these features are already the norm in Jordan, so their presence in most of these hotels is no surprise. Those categories that are the least covered might highlight the differences between more conservative and more moderate Muslim cultures. Only 13.8% of the hotels surveyed offer Islamic swimsuits, with 20.7% saying that they wouldn't even consider implementing this service in the future. Similarly, only 37.9% of hotels have implemented an Islamic dress code for staff. The issue of dress code, while it may be significant for some travelers, doesn't seem to be as important for the Jordanians working at and managing these hotels. Only around a third of the hotels offered separate leisure spaces for men and women, and less offered separate gym times. Presentation of praying times also didn't come up much, which may be due to the prevalence of the call to prayer in Jordan Judging from these results, the tourism industry in Jordan seems to be well-aware of the concept of Halal tourism, and many hotels seem to be incorporating its principles into their services and programming. Over half of the hotels surveyed either currently run or plan to run special initiatives in the area of Halal tourism, and around the same amount intend to run workshops for their staff on the needs of Halal tourists. 48.3% of hotels mentioned the influence of government initiatives designed to spread awareness of Halal tourism. It seems that many of these hotels are eager to adapt to the needs of Halal tourists, even if they haven't already.

Conclusion:
The impact of the new currents of tourism out of the Middle East on the tourism industry as a whole is undeniable. Hotels and other travel-related businesses in Muslim-majority countries such as Turkey and Malaysia as well as in other destinations like Japan and Australia are adapting to suit the needs of this new market. Jordan has also been seeking to capitalize off of this change, with special government initiatives designed to promote Halal tourism.
Our survey shows that many hotels in Jordan are aware of the concept of Halal tourism, and are seeking to incorporate parts of it into their own programming. These hotels already largely incorporate many of these features, but this may just be due to Jordan's own status as a Muslim-majority country. There are some aspects of Halal tourism, such as separate leisure spaces and gym times for men and women, that have not been put into place, with little sign that they will be in the future. Based on the responses received, it is likely that the degree to which these practices are adopted will increase over time.
The goal of this study was to understand the degree to which hotels in Jordan are aware of Halal tourism and to find out the availability of different features of Halal tourism in the country. The data obtained from this survey is only descriptive and therefore unable to conclusively state the causes behind any our findings. Future studies should focus on the degree to which promotion of Halal tourism as a new, lucrative type of tourism has led to the implantation of these practices.