Turkey plans to focus on halal tourism

The second international halal tourism conference was welcomed by the capital of Islamic tourism, Konya, Turkey, at the beginning of May

More than 1.000 tour operators and travel industry representatives, visitors, artists, academics and investors have gathered at the conference in Turkey to find opportunities and boost investment in the Muslim travel market.

The “halal” concept applies to all products that are compliant with the Islamic law.

The Arabic word “halal,” meaning “permissible,” is typically applied to food, but the concept is related to any product following the Islamic law. According to the concept, “Halal Tourism is a form of tourism for Muslims who prefer to utilize services, facilities and activities compliant with Islamic principles.” In halal tourism every detail, from food to accommodation, recreational and praying facilities, is arranged according to the Islamic beliefs. Logistic and finance are also done by following the rules of Islam.

As Muslims have spent on a global level around $142 billion in 2014 on outbound tourism, representing 11% of the global expenditure, the industry leaders have set a new goal for 2020: the expenditure is expected to grow to $233 billion.

Turkey occupies the seventh position out of 73 countries evaluated by the Halal Travel Indicator mentioned by the Thomson Reuters report for the best developed Islamic economy for Muslim travel. Moreover, Turkey also rates as the third most popular destination on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's list of destinations in the global Muslim travel market, after Malaysia and the UAE.

By increasing awareness on the Muslim-friendly resorts, Turkey is set to boost revenues from the Halal tourism sector.

Speaking at the conference opening in Konya, Culture and Tourism Minister Mahir Unal declared that Turkey will focus on developing halal tourism by boosting the number of sector hot-spots, as 150 of the halal-friendly hotels are already here and that the nation will strive for the leadership of the halal tourism sector, despite current security situation in the country.