Halal Tourism: Development, Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Tourism is one of the strengths of the economic development in the sector of service business which continues to grow and can increase employment. Today, halal tourism is starting to get a lot of attention and interest. In line with the increasing the Muslim tourists from year to year, the development of halal tourism has begun to be carried out by various countries in the world i.e., Muslims and Non-Muslims. This study aims to explore the development of halal tourism in several countries, review the concepts and principles of halal tourism, and discuss the challenges and opportunities. The study result indicated that Muslim tourists is an opportunity for the tourism sector to develop halal tourism due to the Muslim population is currently around 30 percent of the total world population. In conclusion, the availability of halal food, products that do not contain pork, non-intoxicating drinks (containing alcohol), the availability of prayer room facilities including ablution places, the availability of the Qur'an and worship equipment (prayer) in the room, Qibla instructions and staff clothing Politeness is a condition that is able to create a Muslim-friendly atmosphere. In addition, judging from the existing concepts and principles of halal tourism, various countries generally only try to create a Muslim-friendly atmosphere. The development of halal tourism needs to be carried out, by conducting various scientific research and studies, especially in Indonesia due to the research related to halal tourism is still limited.