Comparison halal food regulation and practices to support halal tourism in Asia: A review

Abstract

The number of Muslims in the world continues to increase. Projected in 2026, more than 230 million Muslim tourists will contribute US $ 300 billion to the global economy. Halal tourism is growing and becoming a new phenomenon through increased consumer knowledge and awareness of halal products and services. Halal guarantee, priority on food products, is an opportunity for business supporters. The Global Islamic Report approved total expenditure in the food sector to reach the US $ 1,303 billion and is projected to increase in 2023 by the US $ 1,863 billion. This paper compareshalal food product regulation and practices in several Asian countries using a systematic review method. These countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea) are ranked in the top 10 by the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) based on the criteria of Accessibility, Communication, Environment, and Services in the category of “Muslim friendly destinations” in terms of Organization Islamic Cooperation (OIC)and non-OIC countries, with the largest number of Global Muslim Traveller tourists in the world. Halal product guarantees must be realized properly to increase the confidence of Muslim tourists in the food products of the country. The implementation of standards and regulations in each country is different. Each country develops halal and quality products in tourist destinations for Muslim Global tourists and increases the number of visits. Halal tourism has become one of the strategic sectors to increase the country and the people’s income in the country.