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Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
ISSN: 0128-7702 e-ISSN 2231-8534
SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIESJournal homepage: http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/
Article history:Received: 10 November 2017Accepted: 02 August 2018Published: 25 March 2019
ARTICLE INFO
E-mail addresses:[email protected] (Nur Sa’adah Muhamad)[email protected] (Syahnaz Sulaiman)[email protected] (Khairul Akmaliah Adham)[email protected] (Mohd Fuaad Said)* Corresponding author
© Universiti Putra Malaysia Press
Review Article
Halal Tourism: Literature Synthesis and Direction for Future Research
Nur Sa’adah Muhamad1, Syahnaz Sulaiman2, Khairul Akmaliah Adham2 and Mohd Fuaad Said3*1Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia2Faculty of Economics and Muamalat, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan 71800, Malaysia3Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
Halal tourism, which arises from the growth in the number of Muslim travellers world-wide and the rapid development of halal industry, is defined as the engagement of any object or action by Muslim travellers that conforms to the Islamic teachings and facilitates the practice of the religion. As such, the application of halal concept in tourism, including in its development and marketing, must be guided by the Islamic principles. With the purpose to understand the current state of knowledge and practice, we reviewed the literature on halal tourism that has been published in high-tier academic journals. Based on the review, we identified the emergent themes and the knowledge gaps for future research. Among others, we found that the industry is booming with increased participations from Muslim-minority countries. However, there seems to be variations in the practice, perhaps due to the complexity of the market needs. The implementation of halal tourism by Muslim-minority countries is the most pressing issue due to the need to ensure that the process and the service offered strictly comply with the requirements of Islamic teachings, while at the same time, to ensure that the countries are able to develop their halal sectors into competitive industries. Understanding the implementation of halal tourism is an important
agenda for future research to ensure that the service provided addresses the fundamental issue of Muslims’ obligations to adhere to the Islamic teachings in all aspects of their lives including while travelling.
Keywords: Halal, halal implementation, halal tourism,
Islam, Muslim, tourism, tourist, traveller
Nur Sa’adah Muhamad, Syahnaz Sulaiman, Khairul Akmaliah Adham and Mohd Fuaad Said
730 Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
INTRODUCTION
Halal tourism is one of the latest trends that arises from the growth in the number of Muslim travellers world-wide and the rapid development of halal industry. Halal tourism is dubbed as ‘the new billion dollar travel trend’. Its market worldwide is recorded to increase at the annual rate of 5%, which is more than the normal tourism industry growth of 4% (Context Consulting, 2016). In a report on the state of the global Islamic Economy of 2014/2015, which was produced by Thomson Reuters and Dinar Standard, it had been indicated that Muslim tourists worldwide spent 140 billion US dollars in 2013, and this figure excluded the spending on the same year on Hajj and Umrah, which were valued at 16 billion US dollars. Moreover, the amounts spent by the Muslims constitute 11.5 per cent of global expenditure. Halal tourism segment is expected to be valued at 239 billion US dollars by 2019, which represent 13 per cent of global spending. These impressive figures influence more hotels and other service providers to announce new plans and strategies to draw interest of the Muslim tourists to their Sharia-compliant hotels, restaurants, spas and travel packages. In term of travel destinations for halal tourism, Turkey tops the list in the latest Global Muslim Travel Index, with Malaysia and the UAE in second and third places, respectively (Pillai, 2015).
As halal themes begin to influence tourism industry, both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries are seeking to capture the Muslim tourist market by
providing halal foods, halal accommodation and relevant logistics to cater to the requirements of Muslim travellers. Lately, several Muslim-minority economies, such as Japan and New Zealand, have started to promote their own brand of halal tourism (Henderson, 2016b; Razzaq et al., 2016).
Halal tourism, in this study, is defined as the use or engagement of any object or action by Muslim travellers that conforms to the Islamic teachings and facilitate the practice of the religion (based on Battour & Ismail, 2016; Davids, 2014). Halbase (2017) described halal tourism as the providing of services in term of tour packages and travel destinations that met Muslims’ requirements and preferences. These can include a) halal food served in hotels or in-flight while traveling, b) halal accommodation in regard to food and drinks served during the stay at the hotels, c) halal logistics, which means foods that are properly prepared, stored and delivered, d) halal spa, especially, in regard to having separated rooms or facilities for male and female clients and being served by the same gender, as well as e) Islamic finance, in which traveling is funded by halal or Sharia-compliant means.
Therefore, the development and marketing of halal tourism services must be guided by the Islamic teachings and principles, covering all aspects of tourism activities. This study addresses the fundamental issue of Muslims’ obligations to follow the Islamic teachings in all aspects of their lives including while they are travelling. The concept of halal tourism has also attracts the interest of scholars,
Halal Tourism: Literature Synthesis and Direction for Future Research
731Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
particularly from mid-2000s onward. In the last 10 years the field continued to develop more rapidly. However, to date, there is still a lack of comprehensive evaluation on the literature in the field. This study intends to fulfil this gap.
The objective of this study is to analyse the current state of knowledge and practice of halal tourism. In achieving this objective, we reviewed the extant literature on halal tourism that has been published in high-tier academic publications. We conducted the literature search on the SCOPUS database using keyword “halal tourism”. The database generated 44 articles on the topic. Specifically, we analysed these articles based on the dimensions of type of article, contexts and subjects of study, field of discipline, and major findings and themes. This information serves as the basis of assessing the main focus of the studies and their overall position and contribution to the field of knowledge in halal tourism. Based on this analysis, the emergent themes on halal concept as they relate to tourism are discussed and the knowledge gap for future research is identified.
ANALYSIS OF PUBLISHED ARTICLES ON HALAL TOURISM
Our search on the SCOPUS database yielded a total return of 44 articles. We excluded 15 articles from the original list that are not relevant to our topic of interest, as well as those that are works-in-progress and publications of proceedings. From the list of 29 articles included in our analysis, 16 are conceptual or review papers while the
remaining 13 are empirical. Table 1 shows the summary of all the articles included in this review.
The number of empirical articles that utilised qualitative methodology is eight, exceeding that of five articles that used quantitative approach. Seven of the empirical articles in our analysis dealt with consumer issues (of which the unit of analysis is the tourist), including those in the USA, Malaysia, Turkey, India and Indonesia. These studies are consumer behaviour studies, which can be categorised under the field of marketing. Six articles that examined the issues of halal tourism from the providers or related agencies perspective were conducted in Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Italy and Thailand. Four of these articles utilised marketing management as the framework, while two articles on Thailand and New Zealand utilised geography and tourism as the framework, respectively. As a whole, the topic of halal tourism is mostly studied from the marketing perspective.
Halal Tourism over the Years
The rise in the number of published articles on halal tourism can be seen toward the late 2000s. The main focus of discussion at that time was the Shariah perspective on tourism (e.g. Battour et al., 2010; Bon & Hussain, 2010). Battour et al. (2010) defined halal tourism and emphasized the importance of awareness and observance of Shariah rules in halal tourism implementation, while Bon and Hussain (2010) highlighted that availability of halal food determined
Nur Sa’adah Muhamad, Syahnaz Sulaiman, Khairul Akmaliah Adham and Mohd Fuaad Said
732 Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
the choice of destination for Muslim tourists. These two studies are followed by qualitative inquiries by Battour et al. (2011) who studied Muslim foreign tourists in Malaysia, Kurokawa (2013) who studied the branding of Chiang Mai for serving Muslim tourists, and Halkias et al. (2014) who studied family firms that provided halal food in Italy. While Battour et al. (2010) was concerned with Muslim providers serving Muslim tourists, Kurokawa’s (2013) and Halkias et al.’s (2014) studies focused on non-Muslims providers serving Muslim tourists in Muslim-minority countries. Specifically Battour et al. (2010) generated a number of ‘halal’ attributes of destination that were valued by Muslim tourists, which included halal food and permissible entertainment, prayer areas and related facilities, and gender segregation.
In 2014, Stephenson suggested the need to consider non-Muslims’ perception and experiences in halal services, including halal tourism, due to the reason that halal services were not being developed exclusively for or being consumed only by Muslim customers. This understanding is also important in order to address the prejudice or sentiments that are still existing among some non-Muslims against Islam. In similar vein, Haq and Medhekar (2014) proposed Pakistan (a Muslim-majority country) and India (a Muslim-minority country) to collaborate in order to leverage on the opportunities provided by halal tourism, due to their geographical and cultural proximities. Davids (2014) further discussed the potential for Islamic tourism to flourish in South
Africa, which is a Muslim-minority country. Backed by the long history of the presence of Islam and the Muslim community in South Africa, the author concluded that the Islamic culture in South Africa has evolved and shaped by the country’s internal and external circumstances and regarded as a valuable national culture and heritage. In the same year, Medhekar and Haq (2014) reported their findings of a case study conducted on Muslim patients seeking for Shariah-compliant treatment in India. The study found that the choice of halal-certified medical care by Muslim patients, including foreign patients who travelled from abroad to seek health treatment (termed as medical tourists), was based on their rational and emotional attitudes as well as affective and cognitive feelings.
In 2015, Shakona et al. studied the travelling behaviour of Muslims in the US and made a suggestion to providers to consider the influence of religion on Muslim tourists. Henderson (2016a, 2016b) highlighted the complexity of serving different segments of tourisms, the Muslims and non-Muslims. In Russia for example, Gabdrakhmanov et al. (2016b) concluded that the implementation of halal tourism had high potential to grow and sustain, while in another study, Gabdrakhmanov et al. (2016a) highlighted the need for proper infrastructure that would help to enable or facilitate the delivery of halal services as a requisite to promoting the growth of halal tourism in Russia, a Muslim-minority country. While at the beginning of their study, Razzaq et al. (2016) assumed that
Halal Tourism: Literature Synthesis and Direction for Future Research
733Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
halal tourism would take up in New Zealand because of their readied supply of halal meat, their study eventually suggested that provision of halal tourism was much more complex because of the need to understand Muslim consumer behaviour, as well as the comprehensive Shariah requirements related to preparing halal food.
Izberk-Bilgin and Nakata (2016) established a number of fundamentals o r p r i n c i p l e s o f h a l a l m a r k e t i n g implementation that should be embraced by businesses providing halal services, including halal tourism. The principles included understanding and embracing the true meaning and requirements of halal as well as the regulatory rules and practices. Ryan (2016) in his editorial, acknowledged the increased attention on the topic of halal tourism in the academia and in practice. He further highlighted the need for advancing the knowledge of halal tourism through conducting more empirical research. In their review of literature, Battour and Ismail (2016) highlighted the increased number of Muslim tourists to both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries and that there were many factors influencing this trend, including political conditions of the tourists’ countries of origin as well as the destination countries, and the level of tourism promotions and programs. Whereas in a study on homestay host families in Morocco, Carboni and Janati (2016) found that these local hosts did not consider halal certification as a necessity to serve Muslim tourists, as being Muslims, the hosts believed that their services conformed to
Islamic requirements. While they did not object to being halal certified, the local hosts also believed that it was important to ensure such certification would not hinder their offerings to be appealing to those of other faiths.
According to Mohsin et al. (2016), the current and potential financial lucrativeness of the market is the main reason for many countries including Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey are interested to tap into the high-growth halal tourism market. They defined Muslim-friendly hotel ambience, food and hospitality as fundamentals in serving this segment. Henderson (2016a), in comparing between Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, and Singapore, a Muslim-minority country, suggested that both countries had their own advantage in marketing in halal tourism as long as they had proper control and certification mechanisms in place. In particular, both of the countries are considered as congenial destinations for inbound Muslim tourists due to their positive socio-political and religious conditions.
By 2016, the lack of studies and understanding on religious versus general travel requirements were still prevalent, as noted by El-Gohary (2016). El-Gohary (2016) established halal tourism as a form of religious tourism. Oktadiana et al. (2016) questioned the lack of studies of halal tourism in Indonesia, despite the country being the largest Muslim country in the world. They attributed various reasons for this research gap. Based on their review,
Nur Sa’adah Muhamad, Syahnaz Sulaiman, Khairul Akmaliah Adham and Mohd Fuaad Said
734 Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
Tabl
e 1
Sum
mar
y of
SC
OPU
S ar
ticle
revi
ew
No.
Aut
hor
(Yea
r)Ti
tleSo
urce
title
Arti
cle
Type
(M
etho
dolo
gy,
if re
leva
nt)
Con
text
/Su
bjec
t of
Stud
y
Fiel
d of
Stu
dy
/ Dis
cipl
ine
Sum
mar
y of
Maj
or F
indi
ngs/
Them
es
1Sh
afae
i (2
017)
The
rela
tions
hip
betw
een
invo
lvem
ent w
ith
trave
lling
to Is
lam
ic
dest
inat
ions
and
Isla
mic
br
and
equi
ty: a
cas
e of
Mus
lim to
uris
ts in
M
alay
sia
Asi
a Pa
cific
Jo
urna
l of
Tour
ism
R
esea
rch
Empi
rical
(Q
uant
itativ
e)M
iddl
e Ea
ster
n to
uris
ts
trave
lling
to
Mal
aysi
a
Mar
ketin
g (b
rand
equ
ity)
This
stud
y of
Mus
lim to
uris
ts’ p
erce
ptio
n of
Mal
aysi
a’s
Isla
mic
bra
nd e
quity
exa
min
ed s
ix v
aria
bles
, nam
ely
awar
enes
s, q
ualit
y, i
mag
e, v
alue
, lo
yalty
and
the
y re
late
to
tour
ists
’ in
volv
emen
t w
ith
trav
elli
ng t
o Is
lam
ic d
estin
atio
ns. T
he st
udy
foun
d th
at th
e st
rong
est
pred
icto
r of t
he in
volv
emen
t of t
rave
llers
trav
ellin
g to
Is
lam
ic d
estin
atio
ns is
aw
aren
ess.
2El
aziz
&
Kur
t (20
17)
Rel
igio
sity
, con
sum
eris
m
and
hala
l tou
rism
: A
stud
y of
sea
side
tour
ism
or
gani
zatio
ns in
Tur
key
Tour
ism
Empi
rical
(Q
ualit
ativ
e)M
uslim
tour
ist
perc
eptio
n on
ha
lal t
ouris
m in
Tu
rkey
Mar
ketin
gTh
e st
udy
sugg
ests
that
relig
ious
vac
atio
ners
per
ceiv
e ho
liday
as
one
of t
he b
asic
nee
ds.
This
cho
ice
of
lifes
tyle
mig
ht b
e infl
uenc
ed b
y th
e cap
italis
t con
sum
er/
tour
ism
cul
ture
, thu
s po
ssib
ly in
dica
tes
that
rel
igio
us
tour
ists
are
no
diff
eren
t fro
m o
rdin
ary
tour
ists
.3
Car
boni
et
al. (
2017
)D
evel
opin
g to
uris
m
prod
ucts
in li
ne w
ith
Isla
mic
bel
iefs
: som
e in
sigh
ts fr
om N
abeu
l–H
amm
amet
Jour
nal o
f N
orth
Afr
ican
St
udie
s
Empi
rical
(Q
ualit
ativ
e)Se
rvic
e pr
ovid
ers
in
Tuni
sia
Man
agem
ent
and
Mar
ketin
gM
ore
serv
ice
prov
ider
s ar
e be
com
ing
fam
iliar
with
gl
obal
pro
duct
s des
igne
d fo
r Mus
lim c
onsu
mer
s. Th
ese
serv
ice
prov
ider
s co
nsid
er to
uris
m a
s a
diff
eren
tiatio
n to
ol fo
r the
ir bu
sine
sses
.
4O
ktad
iana
et
al.
(201
6)
Mus
lim tr
avel
lers
’ nee
ds:
Wha
t don
't w
e kn
ow?
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
t Pe
rspe
ctiv
es
Con
cept
ual
-M
anag
emen
tIn
this
conc
eptu
al st
udy,
the a
utho
rs re
view
ed a
num
ber
of p
ublis
hed
artic
les a
nd o
ther
onl
ine s
ourc
es o
n th
e key
cu
ltura
l fac
ets o
f int
erac
tion
and
com
mun
icat
ion
of h
alal
to
uris
m. T
he p
roce
ss is
bas
ed o
n th
e th
emes
der
ived
fr
om C
oord
inat
ed M
anag
emen
t of
Mea
ning
(C
MM
) th
eory
. The
ir re
view
hig
hlig
hts
that
ext
ant l
itera
ture
te
nds t
o of
fer a
one
-sid
ed em
phas
is o
n th
e nee
d fo
r hal
al
serv
ice
prov
ider
s to
und
erst
and
and
beco
me
sens
itive
to
thei
r pro
spec
tive
cust
omer
s’ n
eeds
. On
the
cont
rary
, th
e au
thor
s sug
gest
that
the
inbo
und
tour
ists
, too
, mus
t be
sen
sitiv
e to
the
loca
l sen
sitiv
ity a
nd c
ultu
res
of th
e de
stin
atio
ns o
f tra
vel.
5Sa
msi
et a
l. (2
016)
Info
rmat
ion
qual
ity,
usef
ulne
ss a
nd
info
rmat
ion
satis
fact
ion
in Is
lam
ic e
-Tou
rism
w
ebsi
tes
Jour
nal o
f Th
eore
tical
an
d A
pplie
d In
form
atio
n Te
chno
logy
Empi
rical
(Q
uant
itativ
e)M
uslim
to
uris
ts’
expe
ctat
ion
of
trave
l web
site
s th
at c
ater
for
thei
r nee
ds.
Mar
ketin
gIn
this
stu
dy, r
elev
ancy
, Isl
amic
des
ign,
sec
urity
and
pr
ivac
y ar
e am
ong
sign
ifica
nt fe
atur
es o
f Mus
lim-
frie
ndly
trav
el w
ebsi
tes
that
Mus
lim to
uris
ts fi
nd
usef
ul. O
vera
ll, th
is s
tudy
illu
stra
tes
how
tech
nolo
gy
can
influ
ence
the
beha
viou
r and
cho
ices
mad
e by
M
uslim
tour
ists
.
Halal Tourism: Literature Synthesis and Direction for Future Research
735Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
Tabl
e 1
(con
tinue
)
No.
Aut
hor
(Yea
r)Ti
tleSo
urce
title
Arti
cle
Type
(M
etho
dolo
gy,
if re
leva
nt)
Con
text
/Su
bjec
t of
Stud
y
Fiel
d of
Stu
dy
/ Dis
cipl
ine
Sum
mar
y of
Maj
or F
indi
ngs/
Them
es
6Sa
mor
i et
al. (
2016
)C
urre
nt tr
ends
on
Hal
al
tour
ism
: Cas
es o
n se
lect
ed A
sian
cou
ntrie
s
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
t Pe
rspe
ctiv
es
Con
cept
ual
-M
anag
emen
tD
evel
opm
ent o
f hal
al to
uris
m is
revi
ewed
by
the
auth
ors
and
illus
trate
d by
two
case
exa
mpl
es:
Mal
aysi
a as
a p
redo
min
antly
Mus
lim c
ount
ry, a
nd
Japa
n as
a M
uslim
-min
ority
cou
ntry
. The
sce
ne o
f ha
lal t
ouris
m in
bot
h th
e ca
ses
is p
rom
isin
g du
e to
in
crea
se in
the
wor
ldw
ide
tour
ism
tren
d. In
Mal
aysi
a,
mos
t of t
he fa
cilit
ies
and
serv
ices
nee
ded
by M
uslim
to
uris
ts a
re in
pla
ce, h
owev
er, i
mpr
ovem
ents
to th
e qu
ality
are
stil
l nee
ded
in o
rder
to e
nsur
e su
stai
ned
visi
ts. W
here
as fo
r Jap
an, a
lthou
gh re
cept
ive
to th
e ne
eds
of M
uslim
s to
uris
ts, t
he a
vaila
bilit
y of
hal
al
serv
ices
are
stil
l lac
king
esp
ecia
lly in
sm
all c
ities
, due
to
lack
of e
xpos
ure
on Is
lam
as
wel
l as
the
lang
uage
ba
rrie
r. 7
El-G
ohar
y (2
016)
Hal
al to
uris
m, i
s it
real
ly
Hal
al?
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
t Pe
rspe
ctiv
es
Con
cept
ual
-M
arke
ting
(tour
ism
)H
alal
tour
ism
is c
onsi
dere
d a
subc
ateg
ory
of
relig
ious
tour
ism
that
is ro
oted
with
in th
e ru
les
Shar
iah
(Isl
amic
law
), w
hich
mus
t be
obse
rved
by
all
Mus
lims.
Acc
ordi
ng to
the
auth
or, r
elig
ious
tour
ism
, pa
rticu
larly
that
focu
s on
the
actu
al li
nkag
e be
twee
n re
ligio
n an
d to
uris
m, i
s st
ill u
nder
rese
arch
ed.
8H
ende
rson
(2
016a
)H
alal
food
, cer
tifica
tion
and
hala
l tou
rism
: In
sigh
ts fr
om M
alay
sia
and
Sing
apor
e
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
t Pe
rspe
ctiv
es
Con
cept
ual
(incl
ude
anec
dota
l ca
se s
tudy
ba
sed
on
publ
ishe
d so
urce
s)
Focu
s on
M
alay
sia
and
Sing
apor
e w
hich
hav
e m
ajor
ity a
nd
min
ority
M
uslim
po
pula
tions
re
spec
tivel
y.
Mar
ketin
g (h
ospi
talit
y)D
estin
atio
ns w
ith e
ither
maj
ority
, or s
izea
ble
min
ority
M
uslim
com
mun
ities
, hav
e co
mpe
titiv
e ad
vant
ages
in
rega
rd to
off
erin
g se
rvic
es to
Mus
lim to
uris
ts,
parti
cula
rly re
late
d to
hal
al fo
od. T
his
is d
ue to
the
reas
on th
at h
alal
food
is a
nec
essi
ty a
nd th
us re
adily
av
aila
ble
for a
nd o
ffer
ed b
y th
e lo
cal M
uslim
s. Sp
ecifi
cally
, the
agr
eeab
le s
ocia
l, cu
ltura
l and
re
ligio
us c
ondi
tions
in M
alay
sia
and
Sing
apor
e re
nder
th
e co
untri
es a
s fr
iend
ly to
inbo
und
Mus
lim to
uris
ts.
9
Moh
sin
et
al. (
2016
)H
alal
tour
ism
: Em
ergi
ng
oppo
rtuni
ties
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
t Pe
rspe
ctiv
es
Con
cept
ual
-M
arke
ting
Cou
ntrie
s su
ch a
s Aus
tralia
, Ind
ia, I
ndon
esia
, M
alay
sia,
Sin
gapo
re, T
aiw
an, T
haila
nd a
nd T
urke
y ar
e in
tere
sted
in a
ttrac
ting
the
grow
ing
num
ber
of M
uslim
tour
ists
due
to lu
crat
ive
busi
ness
op
portu
nitie
s. M
uslim
-frie
ndly
hot
el a
mbi
ence
, foo
d an
d ho
spita
lity
are
amon
g th
e fu
ndam
enta
l nee
ds o
f th
is s
egm
ent.
Nur Sa’adah Muhamad, Syahnaz Sulaiman, Khairul Akmaliah Adham and Mohd Fuaad Said
736 Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
Tabl
e 1
(con
tinue
)
No.
Aut
hor
(Yea
r)Ti
tleSo
urce
title
Arti
cle
Type
(M
etho
dolo
gy,
if re
leva
nt)
Con
text
/Su
bjec
t of
Stud
y
Fiel
d of
St
udy
/ D
isci
plin
e
Sum
mar
y of
Maj
or F
indi
ngs/
Them
es
10C
arbo
ni
and
Jana
ti (2
016)
Hal
al to
uris
m d
e fa
cto:
A c
ase
from
Fe
z
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
t Pe
rspe
ctiv
es
Empi
rical
(Q
ualit
ativ
e)Pe
rcep
tion
of
loca
l hos
t in
Fez
Mor
occo
to
mar
ket
hala
l/spi
ritua
l to
uris
m a
s cu
ltura
l ex
chan
ge.
Mar
ketin
gLo
cal h
osts
, who
are
Mus
lims,
con
side
r the
ir se
rvic
es a
s al
read
y ha
lal a
nd a
s su
ch b
elie
ve th
at th
e ad
optio
n of
a h
alal
la
bel a
s re
dund
ant o
r doe
s no
t mak
e th
em ‘m
ore
resp
ectfu
l of
Isla
m’.
How
ever
, the
y do
not
obj
ect t
o su
ch c
ertifi
catio
n,
prov
ided
that
non
-Isl
amic
tour
ists
are
not
dis
crim
inat
ed
with
or e
xclu
ded
by it
. In
othe
r wor
ds, i
t is
impo
rtant
to
ensu
re th
at th
e se
rvic
es c
an b
e en
joye
d by
bot
h M
uslim
s an
d no
n-M
uslim
s an
d no
t to
the
excl
usio
n of
oth
ers
due
to h
alal
la
belli
ng.
11
Bat
tour
an
d Is
mai
l (2
016)
Hal
al to
uris
m:
Con
cept
s, p
ract
ises
, ch
alle
nges
and
futu
re
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
t Pe
rspe
ctiv
es
Rev
iew
-M
arke
ting
Ten
year
s af
ter t
he c
once
pt o
f hal
al to
uris
m w
as fi
rst c
oine
d,
this
arti
cle
atte
mpt
s to
revi
ew th
e co
ncep
t of h
alal
tour
ism
, its
cha
lleng
es a
nd th
e fu
ture
out
look
. The
ir re
view
hig
hlig
hts
incr
ease
d nu
mbe
r of M
uslim
tour
ists
to b
oth
Mus
lim a
nd
non-
Mus
lim c
ount
ries
due
to p
oliti
cal s
ituat
ion
(for
inst
ance
, po
litic
al in
stab
ility
in s
ome
Mid
dle
East
cou
ntrie
s ha
d ca
used
th
e in
crea
se o
f out
boun
d to
uris
ts fr
om th
ose
coun
tries
), an
d th
e le
vel o
f tou
rism
pro
mot
ions
and
pro
gram
s (f
or in
stan
ce,
how
the
info
rmat
ion
abou
t a d
estin
atio
n ar
e be
ing
spre
ad).
The
auth
ors
note
the
lack
of e
ngag
emen
t of s
ocia
l net
wor
k an
d pr
oper
geo
grap
hica
l mar
ketin
g th
at w
ould
hav
e th
e pr
ospe
ct to
dis
sem
inat
e in
form
atio
n ab
out M
uslim
-frie
ndly
de
stin
atio
ns.
12Ry
an
(201
6)H
alal
tour
ism
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
t Pe
rspe
ctiv
es
Edito
rial /
R
evie
w-
Mar
ketin
g (to
uris
m) /
M
anag
emen
t
Com
pare
d to
oth
er fo
rms
of to
uris
m, h
alal
tour
ism
is
cons
ider
ed in
its
embr
yoni
c st
ate
as a
sub
ject
for r
esea
rch.
It
is n
ow, h
owev
er, g
ettin
g in
crea
sed
atte
ntio
n fr
om th
e ac
adem
ia a
s w
ell a
s th
e co
mm
erci
al w
orld
, evi
denc
ed w
ith
man
y re
late
d co
nven
tions
and
con
fere
nces
bei
ng s
pons
ored
by
the
indu
stry
. 13
Izbe
rk-
Bilg
in a
nd
Nak
ata
(201
6)
A n
ew lo
ok a
t fai
th-
base
d m
arke
ting:
Th
e gl
obal
hal
al
mar
ket
Bus
ines
s H
oriz
ons
Con
cept
ual
Mal
aysi
aM
arke
ting
This
arti
cle
give
s in
sigh
t on
the
oppo
rtuni
ties
of g
loba
l hal
al
mar
ket a
nd s
ugge
sts
five
key-
poin
ts to
war
ds s
ucce
ssfu
l ha
lal m
arke
ting
stra
tegi
es to
be
used
in o
rder
to ta
p in
to
the
Mus
lim s
egm
ent,
nam
ely:
the
need
s fo
r bus
ines
ses
to
subs
crib
e to
a h
olis
tic d
efini
tion
of h
alal
, to
fully
und
erst
and
abou
t the
rule
s an
d re
gula
tions
of h
alal
, to
have
a g
ood
rapp
ort w
ith th
e po
licy
mak
ers,
to a
ddre
ss th
e co
ncer
ns o
f the
co
nsum
ers
effe
ctiv
ely
and
to h
ave
stra
tegi
c an
d in
tegr
ated
vi
ew o
f hal
al.
Halal Tourism: Literature Synthesis and Direction for Future Research
737Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
Tabl
e 1
(con
tinue
)
No.
Aut
hor (
Year
)Ti
tleSo
urce
title
Arti
cle
Type
(M
etho
dolo
gy,
if re
leva
nt)
Con
text
/Su
bjec
t of
Stud
y
Fiel
d of
St
udy
/ D
isci
plin
e
Sum
mar
y of
Maj
or F
indi
ngs/
Them
es
14R
azza
q et
al.
(201
6)Th
e ca
paci
ty o
f N
ew Z
eala
nd to
ac
com
mod
ate
the
hala
l tou
rism
m
arke
t - O
r not
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
t Pe
rspe
ctiv
es
Empi
rical
(Q
uant
itativ
e)St
udy
of
acco
mm
odat
ion
prov
ider
w
ebsi
tes
in
New
Zea
land
Mar
ketin
g /
man
agem
ent
Whi
le N
ew Z
eala
nd h
as v
ast e
xper
ienc
e as
glo
bal
supp
lier o
f hal
al m
eat,
prov
isio
n of
hal
al to
uris
m, a
nd
hosp
italit
y is
a m
uch
mor
e co
mpl
icat
ed p
roce
ss th
at
requ
ires
a fin
er u
nder
stan
ding
of t
heir
Mus
lim c
lient
s.
15G
abdr
akhm
anov
et
al.
(201
6a)
Prob
lem
s of
de
velo
pmen
t of
hala
l tou
rism
in
Rus
sia
Jour
nal o
f O
rgan
izat
iona
l C
ultu
re,
Com
mun
icat
ions
an
d C
onfli
ct
Con
cept
ual
Min
ority
M
uslim
regi
on
in R
ussi
a (e
.g.,
Tata
rsta
n an
d K
azan
).
Mar
ketin
gG
ood
infr
astru
ctur
e, p
artic
ular
ly th
at fa
cilit
ates
M
uslim
or h
alal
-frie
ndly
ser
vice
s, a
re c
ruci
al to
pr
omot
e th
e de
velo
pmen
t of h
alal
tour
ism
in R
ussi
a.
16G
abdr
akhm
anov
et
al.
(201
6b)
Feat
ures
of
Isla
mic
tour
ism
Aca
dem
y of
M
arke
ting
Stud
ies
Jour
nal
Con
cept
ual
-M
arke
ting
Hal
al fo
od in
dust
ry is
exp
andi
ng in
the
Rus
sian
Fe
dera
tion
as h
alal
exh
ibiti
ons
have
bee
n he
ld
regu
larly
in R
ussi
a. T
he re
cent
dev
elop
men
t ind
icat
es
that
the
hala
l tou
rism
has
a p
oten
tial t
o gr
ow in
R
ussi
a in
the
near
futu
re.
17H
ende
rson
(2
016b
)M
uslim
trav
elle
rs,
tour
ism
indu
stry
re
spon
ses
and
the
case
of J
apan
Tour
ism
R
ecre
atio
n R
esea
rch
Con
cept
ual
Japa
nM
arke
ting
Japa
n, a
Mus
lim m
inor
ity c
ount
ry is
see
n to
hav
e so
me
succ
ess
in a
ttrac
ting
Mus
lim v
isito
rs, a
lthou
gh
not w
ithou
t cha
lleng
es. A
mon
g ot
hers
, ser
vice
pr
ovid
ers
find
the
conc
ept d
ifficu
lt to
und
erst
and.
In
par
ticul
ar, l
ocal
ser
vice
pro
vide
rs a
re lo
okin
g to
avo
id p
ossi
ble
confl
icts
bet
wee
n th
e lo
cals
, and
fo
reig
n M
uslim
tour
ists
. 18
Shak
ona
et a
l. (2
015)
Und
erst
andi
ng th
e tra
velin
g be
havi
or
of M
uslim
s in
the
Uni
ted
Stat
es
Inte
rnat
iona
l Jo
urna
l of
Cul
ture
, Tou
rism
, an
d H
ospi
talit
y R
esea
rch
Empi
rical
(Q
ualit
ativ
e)In
terv
iew
of
12 M
uslim
s of
diff
eren
t na
tiona
litie
s in
th
e U
SA
Con
sum
er
Beh
avio
ur /
Mar
ketin
g
Tour
ism
mar
kete
rs n
eed
to p
ay m
ore
atte
ntio
n to
th
e in
fluen
ce o
f rel
igio
n on
the
leis
ure
and
trave
l be
havi
ours
of M
uslim
trav
elle
rs.
19M
edhe
kar a
nd
Haq
(201
4)H
alal
bra
ndin
g fo
r m
edic
al to
uris
m:
Cas
e of
Indi
an
hosp
itals
Emer
ging
R
esea
rch
on
Isla
mic
Mar
ketin
g an
d To
uris
m in
the
Glo
bal E
cono
my
Empi
rical
(Q
ualit
ativ
e)C
ase
stud
y of
the
first
ha
lal c
ertifi
ed
hosp
ital i
n C
henn
ai, I
ndia
Mar
ketin
g(H
alal
br
andi
ng
for m
edic
al
tour
ism
)
The
stud
y fo
und
that
Mus
lim p
atie
nts,
incl
udin
g fo
reig
n pa
tient
s w
ho tr
avel
led
from
abr
oad
to s
eek
heal
th tr
eatm
ent a
t the
hos
pita
l (m
edic
al to
uris
ts),
show
ed a
ttitu
des
of ra
tiona
l, em
otio
nal a
s w
ell a
s el
emen
ts o
f aff
ectiv
e an
d co
gniti
ve fe
elin
gs w
hen
it co
mes
to th
e re
ason
why
they
cho
se a
hal
al-c
ertifi
ed
med
ical
car
e.
Nur Sa’adah Muhamad, Syahnaz Sulaiman, Khairul Akmaliah Adham and Mohd Fuaad Said
738 Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
Tabl
e 1
(con
tinue
)
No.
Aut
hor
(Yea
r)Ti
tleSo
urce
title
Arti
cle
Type
(M
etho
dolo
gy,
if re
leva
nt)
Con
text
/Su
bjec
t of
Stud
y
Fiel
d of
St
udy
/ D
isci
plin
e
Sum
mar
y of
Maj
or F
indi
ngs/
Them
es
20D
avid
s (2
014)
Isla
mic
tour
ism
in S
outh
A
fric
a: A
n em
ergi
ng
mar
ket a
ppro
ach
Emer
ging
R
esea
rch
on Is
lam
ic
Mar
ketin
g an
d To
uris
m in
the
Glo
bal E
cono
my
Con
cept
ual
-M
arke
ting
In th
is b
ook
chap
ter,
the
auth
or d
escr
ibes
how
hal
al
tour
ism
in S
outh
Afr
ica
begi
ns to
bec
ome
a si
gnifi
cant
pa
rt of
tour
ism
in th
e co
untry
. The
Isla
mic
cul
ture
in
Sou
th A
fric
a is
a fu
sion
of r
elig
ious
and
cul
tura
l nu
ance
s an
d ha
s hi
gh p
oten
tial f
or th
e to
uris
m s
ecto
r as
it is
priz
ed a
s a
natio
nal h
erita
ge.
21H
aq a
nd
Med
heka
r (2
014)
Isla
mic
tour
ism
in
Indi
a an
d Pa
kist
an:
Opp
ortu
nitie
s an
d ch
alle
nges
Emer
ging
R
esea
rch
on Is
lam
ic
Mar
ketin
g an
d To
uris
m in
the
Glo
bal E
cono
my
Con
cept
ual
Indi
a an
d Pa
kist
anM
arke
ting
(hal
al
bran
ding
)
Bas
ed o
n a
revi
ew o
f the
lite
ratu
re, t
his
book
cha
pter
pr
ovid
es a
dis
cuss
ion
of th
e hi
stor
y of
Isla
mic
tour
ism
in
Indi
a an
d Pa
kist
an p
artic
ular
ly th
at is
rela
ted
to it
s br
andi
ng. D
ue to
the
two
coun
tries
’ clo
se c
onne
ctio
ns,
cultu
rally
and
geo
grap
hica
lly, t
he s
tudy
sug
gest
s th
e tw
o co
untri
es s
houl
d w
ork
colla
bora
tivel
y in
gro
win
g th
eir h
alal
tour
ism
mar
ket.
22
Step
hens
on
(201
4)D
ecip
herin
g 'Is
lam
ic
hosp
italit
y': D
evel
opm
ents
, ch
alle
nges
and
op
portu
nitie
s
Tour
ism
M
anag
emen
tC
once
ptua
l-
Man
agem
ent
and
Mar
ketin
g
The
auth
ors
sugg
est t
hat i
t is
impe
rativ
e to
del
iber
ate
on th
e in
volv
emen
t of n
on-M
uslim
s in
hal
al to
uris
m,
due
to h
alal
ser
vice
s ar
e al
so b
eing
con
sum
ed b
y no
n-M
uslim
s. In
add
ition
, the
re a
re s
till s
igni
fican
t am
ount
of
‘fea
rs’ o
r pre
judi
ce a
bout
Isla
m a
mon
g no
n-M
uslim
s th
at m
ade
them
relu
ctan
t to
enga
ge w
ith o
r eve
n re
ject
M
uslim
-frie
ndly
ser
vice
s. U
nder
stan
ding
this
seg
men
t, pa
rticu
larly
thos
e w
ho a
re re
cept
ive
to o
r int
eres
ted
in th
e cu
lture
s of
oth
ers
wou
ld b
e be
nefic
ial t
o th
e de
velo
pmen
t of h
alal
ser
vice
s in
clud
ing
hala
l tou
rism
. 23
Hal
kias
et
al. (
2014
)H
alal
pro
duct
s an
d se
rvic
es in
the
Italia
n to
uris
m a
nd h
ospi
talit
y in
dust
ry: B
rief c
ase
stud
ies
of e
ntre
pren
eurs
hip
and
inno
vatio
n
Jour
nal o
f D
evel
opm
enta
l En
trepr
eneu
rshi
p
Empi
rical
(Q
ualit
ativ
e)C
ase
stud
y of
two
fam
ily
busi
ness
es
in It
aly
that
cat
er
to M
uslim
to
uris
ts.
Mar
ketin
gO
vera
ll, th
ere
is a
lack
of d
eman
d, a
nd s
imila
rly, l
ack
of o
ffer
ings
of h
alal
pro
duct
s an
d se
rvic
es in
Eur
ope.
N
ever
thel
ess,
the
situ
atio
n is
pro
gres
sive
ly c
hang
ing
due
to th
e gr
owin
g ha
lal m
arke
t on
the
glob
al s
cene
.
24K
urok
awa
(201
3)C
ase
stud
ies
of th
e in
nova
tive
loca
l cot
tage
in
dust
ries
and
tour
ism
in
north
and
nor
thea
st d
istri
ct
in T
haila
nd: I
mpl
icat
ions
fr
om th
e lo
cal b
rand
ing
stra
tegy
of T
haila
nd
Stud
ies
in
Reg
iona
l Sci
ence
Empi
rical
(Q
ualit
ativ
e)B
rand
ing
of
Chi
ang
Mai
re
gion
of
Thai
land
Geo
grap
hy
and
tour
ism
In th
is s
tudy
, the
gov
ernm
ent o
f Tha
iland
has
im
plem
ente
d a
dece
ntra
lized
app
roac
h to
tour
ism
m
anag
emen
t. Sp
ecifi
cally
, the
stu
dy e
xam
ines
im
plem
enta
tion
of b
rand
ing
stra
tegy
of l
ocal
go
vern
men
t of C
hian
g M
ai to
cat
er to
Mus
lim to
uris
ts.
The
stud
y su
gges
ts re
gion
al o
r loc
al b
rand
ing
stra
tegy
ha
s th
e po
tent
ial t
o in
crea
se to
uris
m.
Halal Tourism: Literature Synthesis and Direction for Future Research
739Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
Tabl
e 1
(con
tinue
)
No.
Aut
hor (
Year
)Ti
tleSo
urce
title
Arti
cle
Type
(M
etho
dolo
gy,
if re
leva
nt)
Con
text
/Su
bjec
t of
Stud
y
Fiel
d of
St
udy
/ D
isci
plin
e
Sum
mar
y of
Maj
or F
indi
ngs/
Them
es
25B
atto
ur e
t al.
(2
011)
The
impa
ct
of d
estin
atio
n at
tribu
tes
on
Mus
lim to
uris
t's
choi
ce
Inte
rnat
iona
l Jo
urna
l of T
ouris
m
Res
earc
h
Empi
rical
(Q
ualit
ativ
e)M
uslim
fore
ign
tour
ists
in
Mal
aysi
a
Mar
ketin
g (C
onsu
mer
be
havi
our)
Ther
e ar
e a
num
ber o
f ‘ha
lal’
attri
bute
s of
des
tinat
ion
(i.e.
, cat
egor
ized
as
tang
ible
and
inta
ngib
le) t
hat a
re
valu
ed b
y M
uslim
tour
ists
, whi
ch a
re h
alal
food
, pr
ayer
are
as a
nd re
late
d fa
cilit
ies,
gen
der s
egre
gatio
n an
d ch
oice
of e
nter
tain
men
t tha
t are
sui
tabl
e fo
r M
uslim
s.26
Bon
and
Hus
sain
(2
010)
Hal
al fo
od a
nd
tour
ism
: Pro
spec
ts
and
chal
leng
es
Brid
ging
Tou
rism
Th
eory
and
Pr
actic
e
Con
cept
ual
-Sh
aria
h,
tour
ism
m
anag
emen
t an
d po
licy
Food
pla
ys a
maj
or ro
le in
hal
al to
uris
m a
nd th
us
has
sign
ifica
nt im
plic
atio
n on
the
polic
y an
d pr
actic
e of
hal
al to
uris
m. P
artic
ular
ly fo
r Mus
lim to
uris
ts,
avai
labi
lity
of h
alal
food
det
erm
ines
thei
r cho
ice
of
trave
l des
tinat
ion,
eith
er to
Mus
lim o
r non
-Mus
lim
coun
tries
.27
Bat
tour
et a
l.
(201
0)To
war
d a
hala
l to
uris
m m
arke
tTo
uris
m A
naly
sis
Con
cept
ual
-Sh
aria
h,
Tour
ism
m
anag
emen
t
This
arti
cle
atte
mpt
s to
defi
ne h
alal
tour
ism
and
em
phas
izes
the
impo
rtanc
e of
the
awar
enes
s an
d ob
serv
ance
of S
haria
h ru
les
in h
alal
tour
ism
im
plem
enta
tion.
28W
an-H
assa
n an
d Aw
ang
(200
9)H
alal
food
in
New
Zea
land
re
stau
rant
s: A
n ex
plor
ator
y st
udy
Inte
rnat
iona
l Jo
urna
l of
Econ
omic
s an
d M
anag
emen
t
Empi
rical
(Q
uant
itativ
e)Q
uant
itativ
e su
rvey
of
rest
aura
nts
serv
ing
hala
lfo
od in
New
Ze
alan
d
Tour
ism
and
ho
spita
lity
Man
y re
stau
rant
ope
rato
rs in
New
Zea
land
are
not
fa
mili
ar w
ith h
alal
con
cept
and
they
do
not c
onsi
der
Mus
lim to
uris
t mar
ket a
s si
gnifi
cant
to th
eir b
usin
ess.
29M
ohsi
n an
d Ry
an
(199
7)B
usin
ess
visi
tors
to
the
north
ern
terr
itory
exp
o
Tour
ism
R
ecre
atio
n R
esea
rch
Empi
rical
(Q
uant
itativ
e)M
alay
sian
and
In
done
sian
bu
sine
ss
trave
llers
to
Nor
ther
n Te
rrito
ry E
xpo.
Con
sum
er
beha
viou
rTh
e fin
ding
s su
gges
t ava
ilabi
lity
of h
alal
food
s an
d ac
cess
ibili
ty to
Isla
mic
ser
vice
s as
impo
rtant
co
nsid
erat
ions
for M
uslim
bus
ines
s tra
velle
rs.
Sour
ce: A
utho
rs’ r
evie
w o
f lite
ratu
re
Nur Sa’adah Muhamad, Syahnaz Sulaiman, Khairul Akmaliah Adham and Mohd Fuaad Said
740 Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
they concluded that there was a need of the inbound tourists to understand the local sensitivity and cultures. This was in addition to the existing imbalanced focus of the literature which mainly emphasised on the need for providers to understand the nuances of the inbound tourists. Further, Samori et al. (2016) discussed on Islamic religious requirements for travelling. They also illustrated different cases of halal tourism implementation by comparing the experiences of Malaysia (a Muslim-majority country) and Japan (a Muslim-minority country), as both strived to become competitive in the burgeoning halal tourism market. The study also highlighted some areas of improvement in their halal tourism offerings: For Malaysia, there was a need to improve the quality of the services, while in Japan, there was a notable lack of availability of halal services particularly in rural and small cities. In the same year, Samsi et al. (2016) examined the role of technology and information in influencing Muslim tourists’ behaviour. They highlighted content, timeliness, reliability and accessibility as among the useful website features for Muslim tourists.
By 2017, there has been a significant increase in the awareness and understanding of halal tourism concept by service providers (Carboni et al., 2017). In the same year, however, Elaziz and Kurt (2017) suggested that religious tourists and regular tourists had similar intentions of capitalist nature on what made them travel. Shafaei’s (2017) findings emphasized the role of awareness about halal Malaysia brand in inducing
travel amongst Middle-Easterns, citing awareness as the key reason for their decision to travel.
LITERATURE SYNTHESIS
Based on our analysis, we are able to identify six key themes that emerge from the review of the extant literature on halal tourism. The first two themes are directly related to the industry trends (indicated by the circles with dark arrow), while the other four themes centre-stage the predicament and challenges faced by the providers when operating within the halal tourism market, although the dimensions of halal tourism have begun to crystallize. Finally, the last theme concerns the inseparability of discussing the aspects of religion and values of Islam when dealing with halal tourism issues. Figure 1 summarises the major themes that emerged from our literature review.
The Halal Tourism Industry is Booming
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, with the number of Muslim population expanding across 200 countries through emigration and migration. About 23% of Muslims around the world travel for leisure as domestic and outbound tourists, and their number is gradually increasing over time. Looking at the potential of this market-driven segment, halal tourism has gained considerable attention from tourism operators in Muslim-majority countries as well as Muslim-minority countries. They plan to reap the economic benefits and business opportunities arising from the industry.
Halal Tourism: Literature Synthesis and Direction for Future Research
741Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
An Increase of Interest of Non-Muslim Majority Countries to Seek For and Attract Muslim Tourists
The provision of halal tourism in non-Muslim majority or Muslim-minority countries raises the issue of whether their service meets the requirements of halal, as stipulated by the Islamic teachings as well as the level of readiness of providers in these countries to serve Muslim tourists. This is because the service providers need to thoroughly understand the correct concept of halal to be able to apply it accordingly. Since halal concept is embraced as a way for life for Muslims, and it is deeply
rooted within the Shariah, it is perceived that service providers in Muslim-majority countries would face less issue with proper implementation of halal services. However, for Muslim-minority countries where halal concept is not part of their culture and might be considered as foreign, implementing halal services is challenging, and thus service providers need proper education, awareness, as well as guidance and proper governance by relevant agencies. Particularly, assurance of services that meets the Islamic requirements would ensure acceptance of the services by Muslim travellers and win their loyalty in the future.
Figure 1. Key themes in the literature on halal tourismSource: Authors’ review of literature
Approaches to implementing halal tourism vary across places and target markets
While halal attributes have begun to crystallize,
there exists some ambiguities on the
concept of halal tourism among scholars and
practitionersIncrease in non-Muslim
majority countries that seek to attract Muslim tourists
The halal tourism industry is booming
The focus of discussion seems to be one sided;
skewed toward the consumer side
Focus on the religious dimensions and values
has started to re-emerge
Halal Tourism
Nur Sa’adah Muhamad, Syahnaz Sulaiman, Khairul Akmaliah Adham and Mohd Fuaad Said
742 Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
Ambiguity on the Concept of Halal Tourism Exists Among Scholars and Practitioners
The emergence of halal attributes in tourism services signifies to the service providers on the dimensions of serving the Muslim tourists. However, while dimensions of halal attributes in tourism services have begun to crystallize, there seems to be some ambiguities in relation to the interpretation of the halal tourism concept, which influences the differences in the approaches of its implementation. To overcome this problem, the conceptualization of halal tourism needs to be strengthened based on authentic sources in combination with expert opinions in future research.
Approaches to Implementing the Concept of Halal Tourism Vary Across Places and Target Markets
The complexities faced by service providers in serving different markets and different groups of tourists are highlighted in past studies. In fact, in certain Muslim-minority countries, the providers struggle with the implementation of halal services due to the lack of understanding of the halal concept.
The Focus of Discussion on Halal Tourism Seems To Be One Sided, Which Is Skewed Toward the Consumer Side
While some studies examine issues related to service providers, the studies’ implications are still focus on the service recipient, i.e., the tourists or traveller groups. This situation reflects a lack of stakeholder view in discussing halal tourism. Future research can explore the use of systems perspective in
examining halal tourism, as it will provide a comprehensive view on the players as well as all the direct and indirect stakeholders within the halal tourism services industry. Having a comprehensive view is needed as the halal concept covers the entire value chain and processes involved in the provision of the halal tourism service.
The Focus on the Religious Dimensions and Values has Started to Re-Emerge
At the initial stage of the development of the field, the issues of Shariah have been center-staged. Later, however, most articles focus on marketing and consumer behaviour issues, while the dimension of religion and values seems to be side tracked. Most recently, scholars began to recognise the importance and the influence of religion and values on services and this can be expected to enrich the discussion of halal tourism in the future, which will further strengthen halal tourism as a body of knowledge.
DIRECTION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
On the whole, the identification of the themes enables us to recognise the issues and areas of concern within the literature. Specifically, the knowledge gap on halal tourism implementation in Muslim-minority countries is highlighted. This, in fact, can be considered as the most pressing issue because the providers are generally non-Muslims and Islamic values are not embedded within their society’s cultures. Within the context of business, there is a pressing need to ensure that the process and product
Halal Tourism: Literature Synthesis and Direction for Future Research
743Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (1): 729 - 745 (2019)
complies with the requirements as stipulated by the Islamic teachings. Understanding the implementation of halal tourism in this context is an important agenda for future research. This is because of the need to ensure that the halal tourism services that are provided in those countries address the fundamental issue of Muslims’ obligations in adhering to the Islamic teachings in all aspects of their lives including while travelling. This understanding, at the same time, is also vital as it can assist the service providers in developing and marketing halal tourism in their countries. On the other hand, the Muslim tourists must also be sensitive to the local cultures and values, without sacrificing their religious values.
Addressing the above and other related issues also supports the development of the field of halal tourism, from the current infancy stage to a maturing field and eventually to be recognized as a legitimate body of knowledge. Such legitimacy is needed particularly given the importance of travelling and the need to serve customers to meet their religious needs and to facilitate their practice of religion. This pursuit for knowledge development is indeed fundamental because searching for halal is obligatory upon Muslims. As such, Muslim researchers play a significant role in educating the non-Muslim majority societies to embrace the proper halal concept. Similarly, on the part of service providers, the development of a comprehensive knowledge about halal tourism supports the development and sustainability of their organizations. This knowledge also serves
as the basis for decision making for the service providers as well as the governing bodies which will provide assurance for the customers, as well as for their future improvements.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This study was financially supported by UPM FRGS Grant 05-02-14-1511FR and UKM GUP-2018-008.
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