Abstract
This study investigates the priorities of food preference attributes of Muslim travellers in Japan to identify Muslim consumers' willingness to pay for food at establishments that offer religion-related services and to divide Muslim travellers in Japan into consumer segments. A mixed methods approach combining a questionnaire survey (386 respondents) and semi-structured, in-depth interviews (12 respondents) was employed. Food preference priority attributes were examined using discrete-choice conjoint analysis, while willingness to pay was investigated via the incentive-compatible elicitation of a consumer's reservation price range, commonly known as ICERANGE, procedure. Muslim travellers were segmented via hierarchical clustering. The results indicate that Muslim travellers in Japan prioritise prayer room availability first and halalness second when dining out. Other attributes, which figure less strongly, include access, word of mouth, and price. Muslim travellers in Japan are willing to pay 1.4 to 1.7 times more than the average price of a meal when the establishment also offers a religion-related service such as a prayer room. Moreover, the study identifies four segments of Muslim travellers in Japan: prayer-room oriented, halal-label oriented, low-budget oriented, and high-end oriented. The study's findings offer valuable insights for business owners and managers who seek to target Muslim travellers in Japan.
Highlights
Muslims attract interest for their religious beliefs, practices, political views, roles in society, and involvement in geopolitical events, and the Muslim market is thriving in both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries (Bergeaud-Blackler, 2016a)
Most of the respondents' destinations were concentrated in Japan's largest cities, especially the Greater Tokyo (36.5%) and Greater Osaka (33.5%) areas
As the discrete-choice conjoint analysis (DCCA) in the previous section does, these results suggest that business owners and managers can target most Muslim travellers by accommodating their prayer room needs first
Summary
Muslims attract interest for their religious beliefs, practices, political views, roles in society, and involvement in geopolitical events, and the Muslim market is thriving in both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries (Bergeaud-Blackler, 2016a). Pricing for food with religion-related services (halal-labelled food with a prayer room available) was among the issues mentioned by business owners and managers during the preliminary study (Saville, 2020), as was the segmentation of Muslim travellers in Japan. The objectives for this study are as follows: (i) to clarify Muslim travellers' preferences regarding food from the point of view of prayer room availability and halalness relative to other attributes, (ii) to identify the WTP of Muslim travellers for food with religion-related services in Japan, and (iii) to segment the market of Muslim travellers in Japan By accomplishing these objectives, this study illustrates the characteristics of Muslim travellers in Japan, which can inform and improve the effectiveness of Japanese business owners' strategies
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