Northstar

4 | www.travelweekly-asia.com DATABANK Controversies surrounding religion in various parts of the world cause security to be a key influence in travel. Hence, Muslim travellers tend to visit Muslim-majority countries or regions that have established a stable Islamic environment. Asia Pacific thus stands to gain HALAL TOURISM: A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY Ryokans, the traditional Japanese inns, are also serving halal meals. segregated spas. Prayer rooms have also been added to hospitals in South Korea to increase medical tourism. Inbound tourists to Japan from Indonesia and Malaysia, the countries with the largest Muslim populations in Southeast Asia, doubled from 2010, totaling 160,000 from Indonesia and 250,000 from Malaysia in 2014. Narita Airport and Kansai International Airport opened a prayer room for Muslims and Japanese restaurants serving dishes prepared in kitchens certified as halal. Ryokans, the traditional Japanese inns that serve Japanese-style breakfasts and dinners, are also serving halal meals. While karaoke rooms serve food and alcoholic beverages, not often do they offer halal food. In response, Karaoke Honpo Maneki Neko located in Yotsuya, Tokyo, started to serve halal options in addition to introducing a prayer room for Muslims, making karaoke establishments much more approachable to Muslim tourists. Modern Muslims are younger, more adventurous, educated and have high disposable incomes and a higher propensity to travel and explore. Sharing of halal travel know- how also contributes in generating excitement among Muslim travellers. For example havehalalwilltravel.com, sparked the hashtag #HHWT on Instagram. Higher global awareness of Islam also encourages them to travel out of their comfort zones and still maintain religious duties. Research undertaken by Crescent Rating, a global resource in Islamic travel, indicates that 25% of the top 20 growth countries in tourism expenditure in the last 10 years have been from Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (countries). A guide to halal travel CrescentRating has published a guide that promotes accurate and consistent use of terms in the halal travel market. Over 150 terms and concepts have been entered and validated, with regular updates planned as the market matures. "Embracing the halal travel phenomenon is now a key focus of growth across the industry for both OIC and non-OIC destinations," said CrescentRating's CEO Fazal Bahardeen. A View from Euromonitor International massively from halal tourism not only from Muslims living in the region but also from Middle Eastern Muslims. According to the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) jointly researched by CrescentRating and MasterCard, Malaysia is the top OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) destination globally for Muslims, while Singapore tops the non-OIC category in 2015. Overall, Asian destinations lead the index. Islamic-themed heritage travel is also gaining traction, where tourists visit sites historical to Islam. Thailand opened a series of gender-

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