Halal tourism and coronavirus: understanding the influence of halal reputation and fear of COVID-19 on tourist’s revisit intention

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to build a better understanding of the concept of Halal tourism as expressed by Muslim Jordanian tourists who want to comply with the Islamic law. The study also examines Jordan as a Halal tourism destination as perceived by those tourists. Implications of marketing Jordan as a Halal tourism destination are among the research questions.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is empirical and quantitative in nature with a survey type. The sample of the study is Muslim Jordanians in the cities of Amman and Irbid. Respondents were chosen randomly in shopping malls, gardens and public places. A self-completion questionnaire was administered to collect the data for the research and 920 questionnaires were returned. The data were analysed using descriptive and reliability and explanatory factor analysis in addition to certain tests such as one samplettest and two samples chi-square tests.FindingsHalal tourism in Jordan is established but needs more enhancements and promotion. Jordan was evaluated positively in 14 Halal services and was unsuccessful in ten others. The motives for Jordanian Muslim tourists who want to comply with the Islamic law, to travel to Halal destinations were destinations that offer Halal-friendly services; to know Islamic religious sites; and to learn about Islamic history. Jordanian tourists were knowledgeable of local and international Halal destinations (78.2 and 67%, respectively). More than half of the sample experienced Halal destinations in Jordan and only 26.4% abroad. From a marketing point of view, the results of this study reveal good awareness of potential Jordanian tourists towards Halal tourism and Halal services. The study revealed that Jordanian Muslim tourists who want to comply with the Islamic law showed significant positive motives to travel Halal tourism destinations. In addition, the study showed statistically significant knowledge and experiences in local Halal destinations, but not in foreign Halal destinations.Research limitations/implicationsThe lack of research on Halal tourism in Jordan gives limited in-depth discussion. In addition, the study sample was chosen from two major cities in Jordan; therefore, further research is needed to include a representative sample of the whole country.Practical implicationsThe paper includes marketing implications on Halal tourism in Jordan. The authors suggest marketing strategies should be launched to emphasise the importance of Halal tourism and marketing Jordan as Halal tourism destination. The recommendations of this study provide positive and negative results on Jordan as a Halal tourism destination. The negative evaluation of Jordan in terms of Halal services should be redressed by the Jordanian Government and the Jordanian private tourism and hospitality sectors to build a positive image of Jordan as a potential competitive Halal destination for Muslim tourists who want to comply with the Islamic law.Originality/valueThe paper is among the first of its kind, which empirically examined the motives of Jordanian Muslims who want to comply with the Islamic law to travel to Halal tourism destinations as well as evaluating Jordan as a Halal tourism destination. This study fills the gap in literature about Halal tourism in Jordan and presents Halal tourism as one of the alternative forms of tourism of high potential for Jordan to compete in this market segment.

Research Aims: This research investigates the influence of trust in social media influencers and perceived authenticity on Muslim tourist loyalty at Laut Tawar Lake, Central Aceh. Specifically, it explores how halal tourism perceptions mediate these relationships. This study expands the current understanding of the interplay between influencer trust, authenticity perception, and halal tourism principles in fostering tourist loyalty, while addressing a gap in tourism literature on sharia-compliant destinations.Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative approach was employed, with data collected from 210 Muslim visitors to Danau Laut Tawar using structured questionnaires. The relationships among variables were examined using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).Research Findings: The results indicate that influencer trust significantly influences perceptions of halal tourism, thereby positively affecting tourist loyalty. In contrast, perceived authenticity does not significantly affect loyalty. Halal tourism also mediates the relationship between authenticity and tourist loyalty, but not between influencer trust and loyalty.Theoretical Contribution/Originality: This study enriches the halal tourism literature by clarifying the roles of influencer trust and authenticity in shaping Muslim tourist behavior. It offers insights into how perceived halal tourism mediates the connection between trust, authenticity, and loyalty.Practical Implications: The findings emphasize the importance of enhancing halal tourism services, partnering with credible influencers, and promoting authentic cultural experiences to strengthen Muslim tourist engagement. The study provides practical strategies for sharia-compliant tourism marketing and management.Research Limitations/Implications: As this study focuses only on Muslim tourists at Lake Laut Tawar, its findings may not be generalizable to other halal tourism destinations with distinct cultural or regulatory settings.

As a country with the largest Muslim population globally, Indonesia is one of the world's most important halal tourism markets. Domestic tourism actors must realize this because developing sustainable halal tourism can significantly increase all actors engaged in it. Therefore, this study aims to describe product development strategies and the implementation of halal tourism activities in Indonesia so that Indonesia can become the world's leading halal tourism destination. This study uses a descriptive method to depict the object under study. The study results indicate that Indonesia is a potential and significant tourism market, so a product development strategy and activities for halal tourist attractions are needed so Muslim tourists can better know Indonesia. The strategy has emphasized the development of halal tourism marketing and promotion strategies. Marketing strategy can be done by determining the identity of tourist attractions, identifying the target market, in this case, Muslim tourists, setting prices, and making the differentiation. Meanwhile, the promotion strategy for halal tourism can be done through direct and indirect marketing.

Halal tourism has become a trending topic in the last decade, so it is not surprising that everyone involved in the world of tourism participates in studying, understanding, alluding to, supporting, opposing and even provoking positively and negatively towards this halal tourism. Bali carries tourism that emphasizes culture. Nature tourism in Bali is known as cultural tourism and is also referred to as the local wisdom of the Balinese people and is philosophically based on Hindu teachings (Darmawan, 2023; Risfandini, 2019). Therefore, there must be a role for stakeholders in efforts to develop halal tourism in Bali. This is because halal tourism is universal, not bound by a particular form that can prevent the island of the gods 'Bali' from developing halal tourism. Moreover, the prospects for the halal tourism business are very large because halal is not just about religion, but has become a choice, opportunity, and lifestyle. The purpose of this study is to find out Halal Tourism in Bali (Case Study of the Implementation of Halal Tourism by PT. Nusantara tour & travel)" the research method used is a case study and the results of this study are that the company welcomes halal tourism, sees this as an opportunity to expand the market and improve services to Muslim tourists, both domestic and international. As for support for the halal tourism program and its form, Nusantara T&T mentions several things that have become the main principles of halal tourism, namely the following aspects below. Providing various services that are in accordance with halal principles, ensuring halal food, providing prayer facilities, designing tour packages that suit the needs of Muslim tourists, working with restaurants whose food does not contain pork and drinks do not contain alcohol, and other ingredients that are classified as non-halal. The conclusion is that PT. Nusantara Tour & Travel strongly supports Halal Tourism in Bali, but does not brand tourism in Bali with halal tourism but still provides Muslim-friendly tourism.

Muslim tourists may take advantage of a variety of Muslim-friendly tourism options, including halal tourism. A growing number of nations are considering expanding their halal tourist offerings, thanks to the industry's meteoric rise since 2018. Among 130 countries, Indonesia topped the 2019 Global Muslim Travel Index as the top halal tourist destination. This success has encouraged Indonesia to increase its efforts in developing halal tourism, taking use of the country's vast potential in this area. Indonesia's advantage in halal tourism must be complemented by particular legislation implementations governing halal tourism to enable structured and orderly implementation. With appropriate regulations, it is hoped that the optimization of halal tourism may become more structured in terms of standards in the promising halal tourism sector, acting as a benchmark for other nations to adopt halal tourism practices. This study aimed to provide additional information on the importance of adopting legislative standards for enforcing halal tourism legislation in Indonesia. This study used normative methodology. In addition to the need for special regulations concerning halal tourism management, careful preparation in terms of adequate scientific and technological updates is required to ensure that halal tourism in Indonesia is well received in the global market. Moreover, there must be a regular control in updating halal tourism regulations in Indonesia between authorized institutions

Globally, halal tourism has been acknowledged as one of the tourisms segment whose growth is exponential. Halal tourism has been identified as one of the highest spending tourist markets. The hospitality industry is recognising the need to adopt Halal-compliant facilities around the globe. Halal tourism can be understood as the offer of tourist services designed to meet the needs of Muslim tourists following their religious commitments. Halal destinations serve Halal food, have a no-alcohol policy and have gender-segregated swimming and spa areas, among other Halal compliant products. Consequently, in Kenya, the hospitality industry is gradually embracing the Halal tourism concept. Mombasa County has identified Halal tourism as a key growth area. Its rich Islamic influence would make it a preferred Halal destination for Halal tourists worldwide. However, Mombasa County has some restaurants currently only providing Halal food. Subsequently, the country is missing out on the growing global Halal tourism. Hence, the study sought to examine the influence of perceived benefits on the intention to adopt the Halal tourism concept in star-rated hotels. The study population was 15 star-rated hotels in Mombasa County. The respondents consisted of hotel managers, supervisors and operatives. The study embraced a cross-sectional research design where primary data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. Data were analysed using descriptive analysis by computing frequencies and means and inferential analysis using correlation and multiple regression analyses. The coefficient of determination from the multiple regression model showed that perceived benefits explain 62.2% of the intention to adopt the Halal tourism concept. The study found that perceived benefits is a significant determinant of the intention by star hotels to adopt Halal tourism. The study recommended the need for the hotels to undertake a cost-benefit analysis before adopting Halal products and services. Keywords: Halal tourism, halal concept adoption, perceived benefits

Indonesia is one of the countries currently developing the concept of halal tourism. Halal tourism includes many variables that are related to each other, which need to be grouped into several main factors that affect tourist visits. This study was conducted to group the variables associated with halal tourism visits to Lombok Island using factor analysis and to classify sub-districts and halal tourism destinations on Lombok Island using the Plaid Bicluster algorithm. Based on the analysis using the main component extraction technique in factor analysis with varimax rotation, it can be concluded that the 9 halal tourism characteristic variables can be grouped into 2 main factors. Furthermore, by using the Plaid Bicluster algorithm, 2 Bicluster were produced. There were 7 sub-districts and 9 destinations formed in Bicluster I, and 8 sub-districts and 3 destinations formed in Bicluster II.

Halal tourism is gaining popularity as it caters to religious demands and Shariah compliance. Malaysia is one of the most favoured travel destinations for Muslim tourists worldwide, providing halal tourism packages. This study aims to explore the halal tourism industry, particularly the advantages and challenges in Malaysia, and reviews the concept of halal tourism, halal destination, halal hotel and halal food. To better understand the halal tourism industry in Malaysia, this research employs secondary qualitative data gathered from various sources, including books, journal articles, newspapers, journal data, and reports. The SWOT and TOWS matrix were used to analyse the data. The finding discusses the advantages and the challenges of halal tourism in terms of halal destinations, halal hotels and halal food in Malaysia, including the statistics. Malaysia's halal tourism sector can develop further to align with the rise of Muslim visitors. Many other nations, with many Muslims and non-Muslims, work to promote halal tourism. This research shed light on the practice of halal tourism industry in Malaysia.

In order to embrace economic resilience as form of national resilience, tourism effort is needed so every provinces in Indonesia able to introduce any potential that they have globally. Halal tourism is one way to gaining lucrative prospect from muslim tourist, since muslim travellers are spending USD 220 billion annually. For the start, at 2012, Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism introduced 12 provinces as halal tourism destinations and adopt some regulations to facilitate the implementation and activation of halal tourism , including West Sumatra. Halal tourism in West Sumatra already got recognition in form of achievements, such as The World Halal Tourism Award 2016 and Anugerah Wisata Halal Nasional 2016 from Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism. This study will explain how West Sumatra able to develop themselves as one of halal tourism destination in Indonesia. Concepts that will be used in this study are public policy and branding strategy.The research conducted with qualitative research. The result of this research is through public policy and branding in tourism effort, West Sumatra succesfully convince the tourist that the province is friendly toward muslim tourist through various rules and incentive toward shareholder that responsible to promote halal tourism effort. Also, as province that mostly populated by muslim, West Sumatra’s branding effort succesfully show that religion and culture able to go along together.
 Keyword: Halal Tourism, West Sumatra, Public Policy, Branding

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze studies on halal tourism in Scopus from 2010 to 2021 and reveal trends, impacts, the most influential articles and future research trends. Design/methodology/approach The study used data from Scopus in 2010 to 2021 with the topic of halal tourism and obtained 122 data publications. This study uses bibliometric analysis with Biblioshiny analysis tools. Findings Halal tourism attracts the attention of academics and practitioners. This study analyzed 122 publications from 2010 to 2021 in Scopus, showing an increase in author contributions of 39.1% per year, peaking in 2021. The most influential article was the work of Battour and Ismail (2016), which emphasized Islamic principles in halal tourism. Mohamed Battour is the lead author, with Indonesia and Malaysia as the leading countries. Future research trends include halal tourist motivation, marketing strategies, mobile applications and artificial intelligence in supporting halal tourism. Collaboration between halal destinations and other industries is also important. Research limitations/implications Database searches were only performed on Scopus, so publications not scanned here could not be analyzed. The search for data from this research is also only based on the title regarding halal tourism. Thus, another article that discusses halal tourism but does not have the word “halal tourism” in the title cannot be analyzed. Originality/value This research is different from previous research in that this study examines literature published in Scopus on the study of halal tourism from 2010 to 2021.

The purpose of this research is to examine hypotheses based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) regarding the relationship between consumer behavior and behavioral factors of recommendation intention in halal tourism. Indonesia, with the world's largest Muslim population, stands as a significant market for halal tourism. However, despite being a prominent halal tourist destination, Indonesia lags behind Malaysia, which raises questions about the dynamics of consumer behavior in promoting halal tourism in Indonesia. Consumer satisfaction has been identified as a crucial determinant of behavioral intentions influenced by behavioral factors. To investigate this phenomenon, cross-sectional data were collected from Muslim tourists using quantitative approaches through questionnaires. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis techniques were applied to draw meaningful insights from the data. The findings revealed that the coefficient of halal attitude significantly impacts the level of satisfaction among tourists, ultimately motivating them to recommend halal tourism in Indonesia. These results validate the role of intervening satisfaction proposed within the framework and provide deeper insights into the variables and mediators of perceived behavior and attitudes. These findings are instrumental in understanding the development of theoretically planned behaviors in the context of halal tourism. Understanding the factors influencing consumer behavior and recommendation intention in halal tourism can be crucial for enhancing Indonesia's position as a top halal tourist destination. By catering to the specific needs and preferences of Muslim tourists, Indonesia can elevate its appeal and attract a larger share of the growing halal tourism market.

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the effect of three destination competitiveness attributes: core resources and attractors, supporting factors and destination management on the tourist perceived behavioral control, perceived value, trust and tourists’ intention to visit halal tourism destination in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative data is collected by conducting an online survey. Using data from 244 Muslim respondents in Indonesia, this study applies a partial least square-structural equation modeling to test and estimate relationships among variables.FindingsThe results show that perceived behavioral control, perceived value and trust directly influences the intention to visit halal tourism. Subsequently, supporting factors also directly affect the intention to visit halal tourism, whereas the other attributes of destination competitiveness that is core resources and attractors and destination management have an indirect relationship or act as mediating variable to the intention. Destination management performs as a driving force of intention to visit halal tourism through the three variables, namely, perceived behavioral control, perceived value and trust. Meanwhile, core resources and attractors only have an indirect relationship through trust.Research limitations/implicationsThere are limitations of the data collection, the respondent of the survey in this study is Muslim tourist, for wider range of region the study should also be conduct not only for Muslim respondent but also non-Muslim respondent to get comprehensive data of halal tourism market in Indonesia.Practical implicationsThis study provides insights to the government and stakeholders about domestic tourist intentions toward halal tourism destinations. This study also makes some recommendations for elements that can be used to increase tourist acknowledgement of halal tourism, acquire the domestic tourist market and increase state revenue through halal tourism.Social implicationsThis study has substantial implications; halal tourism in Indonesia has a promising economic future. The tourism industry is not only intended to increase government revenue but has also contributed to environmental sustainability. The study reveals the significance of destination management in halal tourism. Hence, to make Indonesia a leading country in halal tourism, Indonesia needs to fulfill the tourism destination competitiveness among others to implement sustainable tourism and enhance the infrastructure, promotion, services and environmental aspects.Originality/valueThis study offers a framework model related to halal tourism focus on destination competitiveness as part of the knowledge contributions. Besides, the findings of the study can be the references for the stakeholders to take any strategic decision with regards to attract tourists’ intention to visit halal tourism destinations.

Year to year halal tourism is starting to become popular, in line with the increase in Muslim tourists. Development of halal tourism now carried out by various countries, both majority Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Target of halal tourism market is growing rapidly in the millennial Muslim because it is considered potential in driving halal tourism development. This study of halal tourism seeks to interpret cultural tourism which is synergized with the halal industry as a spiritual experience of modern society, namely millennial Muslims. This literature review will disscuss millennial Muslims in Indonesia as the main segment in utilizing the potential offered from domestic and foreign halal tourism based on literature and other references relating to halal tourism and Y generations. This literature study aims to explore halal tourism at local and abroad which focuses on the segmentation of millennial Muslims as a population that is considered potential in increasing halal tourism development. Focus on study in a particular segmentation is expected to be able to broaden the understanding of the concept of halal tourism from the perspective of the younger generation so that the halal tourism industry is able to develop according to the changes and needs of the times.

The tourism sector is one of the sectors capable of increasing employment and economic growth. Currently, halal tourism is starting to be in great demand. This is in line with the increase in Muslim tourists from year to year. The development of halal tourism has begun to be carried out by various countries, both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Indonesia as a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country, of course, there are new problems that continue to surface where the law is not found either in the Quran or the Hadith, such as the emergence of the phenomenon of public demand for halal tourism in Indonesia. The purpose of this research is to describe halal tourism in Indonesia in terms of the Indonesian Council of Ulama fatwa and the government regulation. This research is a conceptual review that uses literature research methods sourced from authoritative journals, books, and documents and is still relevant to the study of halal tourism. The results showed that a large number of public requests for halal tourism visits in Indonesia in the need for normative and positive regulation regulates. the only difference is in the use of the term "sharia tourism" in the fatwa while the content in the regional regulation uses the term "halal tourism".

PurposeMuslim tourists participating in halal tourism activities represent a valuable niche market for global tourism industry. The purpose of this study is to clarify the concepts of halal tourism and Islamic tourism and to draw attention to some conceptual and practical challenges in the halal tourism industry.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a critical assessment of the literature in this field. To differentiate the concepts and to discuss practical and conceptual challenges, the authors found some references by reviewing the existing definitions in related literature and the primary source of the concepts which is Holy Book of Islam, Quran.FindingsThe terms “intention” and “Islamic motivation” can be used to differentiate Islamic tourism and halal tourism. The authors suggest calling hotels that provide good and services in halal tourism industry as “halal hotels” and tourists as “Muslim tourists”. One of the leading practical challenges in halal tourism is having lack of halal standards, especially for hotels. As the way Muslims understand and adapt their lives to Islam is quite different, which means this market is not homogenous, the authors suggest that halal hotels should be scaled through different qualifications in different countries.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is based on literature review, and it lacks primary research.Practical implicationsCurrent paper stresses the need for consistent use of Islamic-related tourism terms in industry. Hotel companies should have halal certifications that will provide assurance to customers. It is highly important for hotel companies to inform their target guests about the location of hotel before arriving at hotel. This is because halal hotels and other hotels are usually located in resort destination, especially in Turkey.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the leading papers that differentiates Islamic tourism and halal tourism concepts. It also provides several conceptual and practical issues in halal tourism industry.