By Anthony Tan | VIRGIN Communications
Malaysia
has emerged as the world’s friendliest destination, according to Singapore-based Muslim
travel specialist Crescentrating, which is recognised for its rating standard
for halal friendly travel services.
Crescentrating lay claims to having developed
the world’s first system to rate travel and hospitality services as well as
facilities for halal Compliance which include the availability of halal food or
information on halal food and prayer information among others.
Its survey, which evaluate countries in terms
of their attentiveness to the needs of Muslim travellers, covers the availability
and accessibility to halal restaurants that provide meat slaughtered according
to Islamic procedures.
The survey, also looked into the provision of
male and female prayer rooms at airports, shopping malls, touristic attraction
venues and hotels.
Following behind Malaysia are the United Arab
Emirates, Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Morocco, Jordan, Qatar
and Tunisia in this year’s top 10 rankings for halal-friendly holiday
destinations.
 |
| Fazal Bahardeen |
Bahardeen said the country launched
initiatives such as awareness programmes for the local industry and releasing a
Muslim travel guide to Japan. Some airports and hotels in Japan have also started
to offer halal food and prayer rooms.
He said Singapore, the only non-Muslim
country which is ranked sixth among the top 10 countries mentioned above, has
performed better than even some of the Muslim countries in enticing those who
follow the Islamic faith.
The island state offers man-made tourist
attractions, a wide selection of local food and is renowned for its cleanliness
and orderliness.
Bahardeen said other non-Muslim countries
which have yet to see the potential of Muslim tourists spending are Italy,
Belgium, Ireland and Mexico, which are ranked bottom four in its survey.
He, however, noticed that an increasing
number of destinations have been tapping into the Muslim travel segment and
adapting their services to take into account the unique faith-based needs of
Muslim travellers.
In Malaysia, the Islamic Tourism Centre plays
a key role in educating the industry on how to cater to Muslim travellers.
There are now more hotel kitchens with halal certification
and an increasing number of hotels catering to the specific needs of Muslim
travellers.
One hotel even has separate timing for males
and females requiring privacy for the use of gym and swimming pools, Bahardeen
added.
