The Future of the Halal Tourism Market in Japan After COVID-19: An Economic Pragmatism Perspective

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to describe how Halal tourism in Japan developed five years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and how it should be supported to recover post-pandemic, using a perspective of economic pragmatism, which is the alignment of policies with economic development interests. Allegedly one of the largest potential markets in the goods and services sector, Halal tourism is often described as capitalizing on the increasing number of Muslim tourists from both Muslim and Muslim-majority countries. Under this assumption, the increasing number of restaurants and hotels in Japan providing services for Muslim tourists has a correlation with the increasing fame of Japan among Muslim tourists. The Japanese Government has also supported the establishment of the Halal and Muslim-friendly market in Japanese tourism through the provision of visa-free visits for some countries, international promotion through fairs and web promotion, and cooperation with Islam-related non- governmental organizations. The society-level contributions have mainly been focused on the opening of Halal and Muslim-friendly businesses, with the assistance of Muslim residents in Japan. Such multi-level contributions from the Japanese Government, non-governmental organizations, Japanese society and Muslim residents could provide hope for the recovery of the struggling Halal tourism market in the country, as well as for contributing to a more inclusive Japan with Muslims and non-Muslim Japanese living harmoniously.
 Keywords: COVID-19, Halal tourism, inclusive Japan, Islam, Japan