Halal tourism, is it really Halal?

TMP-00224; No of Pages 7 Tourism Management Perspectives xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

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Tourism Management Perspectives journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tmp

Review

Halal tourism, is it really Halal? Hatem El-Gohary Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences, Birmingham City University, United Kingdom Cairo University Business School, Cairo University, Egypt

a r t i c l e

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Available online xxxx Keywords: Halal tourism Religious tourism Islamic tourism Religion Religiosity Halal principles Islamic Shari'ah Islam

a b s t r a c t The study of religion has attracted interest and considerable attention from researchers and practitioners as a result of wanting to know more about religions (such as Islam) and religiosity. However, regardless of the importance of religious studies, religious tourism is still very much under-represented in the literature. In fact, it is distressing to find that little is known about religious tourism in many developed and developing economies. Meanwhile, Islamic tourism (or Halal tourism) is deeply rooted within the Islamic Shari'ah as every Muslim is required to travel for many reasons, some directly related to Islamic Shari'ah itself (e.g. Hajj and Umrah) while many travel for education, medical treatment, and knowledge acquisition, etc. This paper examines the concept of Halal tourism (as a subcategory of religious tourism), its roots, principles and most importantly answers the questions: is Halal tourism really Halal? Is Halal tourism only for Muslim families who abide by Islamic Shari'ah rules? Should it be Halal tourism or Islamic tourism? Is Halal tourism only about Islamic countries or it is also important for other countries? What are the impacts of non-compliance to Halal principles on hotels (and other tourism organisations) performance? © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents 1. 2.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Halal tourism, towards a definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1. Religious tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2. Islamic tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3. Halal tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4. Halal tourism roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5. Halal tourism principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Should it be Halal tourism or Islamic tourism? . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. Is Halal tourism really Halal? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. Is Halal tourism only about Islamic countries? And is it only for Muslims? 6. Impacts of non-compliance to Halal principles on performance? . . . . 7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Introduction Religion is one of the most widespread and influential social institutions that have a significant influence on people's attitudes, values and behaviours for both individuals and society (Mokhlis, 2009). Moreover, religiosity is distinct from religion. The latter is conceptualised as a continuum of commitment that represents a particular faith or creed (such as Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism), whereas the E-mail address: [email protected].

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former portrays the focus of religion in directing a person's life in accordance with religious role expectations (Weaver & Agle, 2002). Religiosity defines ideas about ways of living that are reflected in the values and attitudes of societies and individuals (Fam, Waller, & Erdogan, 2004). Such values and attitudes shape the behaviour and practises of both institutions and people. The clear relationship between tourism and religion has been addressed in the literature on tourism in many different ways (e.g. Battour, Ismail, & Battor, 2010; Eid & El-Gohary, 2015a, 2015b, 2014; El-Gohary & Eid, 2014; Henderson, 2011; Jafari & Scott, 2014).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2015.12.013 2211-9736/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: El-Gohary, H., Halal tourism, is it really Halal?, Tourism Management Perspectives (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.tmp.2015.12.013

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H. El-Gohary / Tourism Management Perspectives xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Nevertheless, previous research on the different perspectives of religious tourism is limited as religion is a relatively under-researched and an under-represented topic in tourism. Religion has long been a strong motivating factor in people's travel (Wall & Mathieson, 2006). Meanwhile, given that tourism and hospitality is a social and cultural industry, it should then closely represent the dimensions of ethnicity and religion (Stephenson, Russell, & Edgar, 2010). In responding to these developments, the tourism industry is progressively moving away from mass marketing and is instead pursuing more sophisticated approaches to segmenting tourist markets in order to address the distinct consumer psychology of a particular target market. Although some aspects of religious tourism (e.g. Islamic tourism) seem to be a new concept for many researchers and practitioners in the field of tourism, its essential concepts are very old, and Islamic tourism is well rooted in Islamic Shari'ah and can be traced to the early days of the Islamic civilisation. Since the times of early Islamic history, all Muslims are required to perform tourism activities as an obligation of Islamic Shari'ah. Furthermore, in the early days of the Islamic civilisation, when the Islamic empire covered enormous geographical areas of Asia, Africa and even some parts of Europe, Muslims (and non-Muslims) got the chance of travel across these three continents safely and without any constrains or limitations such as passports, borders or even security investigations. In addition, these early days of Islamic history witnessed the existence of many famous Muslim travellers such as: Ibn Battuta who was, and still is, one of the most famous travellers in history, Abdellatif El Baghdadi, Ibn Wahb Al-Qorashi, Osama Bin Monqid, El Harawi As-Sa'ih, and others (Taher, 2008). Islamic tourism (or Halal tourism) is deeply rooted within the Islamic Shari'ah as every Muslim is required to visit the holy cities of Meccah and El-Madena (in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — KSA) to conduct Hajj (if he/she can afford to do that financially and physically). Accordingly, any Muslim that does not actually live in these two holy cities (Meccah and/or El-Madena), needs to conduct tourism activities to fulfil his religion and Shari'ah requirements. Furthermore, millions of Muslims travel to the holy cities of Meccah and El-Madena every year to perform Umrah. As a result, according to the latest information provided by the National Statistical Office of Saudi Arabia, during the year 2014, 21.66 million tourists visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia out of which 2,085,238 performed Hajj (National Statistical Office of Saudi Arabia, 2015). A great percentage of these millions visited the KSA for conducting Islamic tourism (Hajj and Umrah). Moreover, Islamic Shari'ah has a great impact on travelling and encouraging tourism. When looking at Shari'ah and Islamic religious principles generated from the Quran and Sunnah (teachings, guidance and practises of Prophet Mohammad) it is found that travellers are considered to be closer to God and their Doaa (asking God for something) and prayers are more responded to while travelling. Furthermore, the religious responsibilities for travellers are less as traveller can pray shorter prayers, can postpone prayers and can postpone his/her fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. Meanwhile, tourism and tourism organisations do play a major role in the world economy, and are considered as one of the main contributors to employment growth and economic development. As a result, tourism can be viewed as one of the most important sources for any country national GDP (Gross Domestic Production) and is considered as a very important part of the economic and social existence of many countries. They play a significant role in today's business world and a strong tourism sector supports and provides a main contribution to the economic growth of any country. Tourism organisations are socially and economically important since they have constantly and significantly contributed in providing potential for employment, self-fulfilment and economic growth. As such, it is very important to provide such organisations with a complete and good understanding about emerging aspects of tourism such as Halal tourism which can help such organisations in achieving its objectives.

2. Halal tourism, towards a definition 2.1. Religious tourism Although, tourism to religious sites is growing worldwide, our understanding of the motives, interests and needs of tourists at these sites is yet limited (Hughes, Bond, & Ballantyne, 2013). Meanwhile, religious tourism is still an under-studied area in tourism research (Kartal, Tepeci, & Atlı, 2015) and scholarly research has barely touched upon the interrelationship between religion and tourism (CollinsKreiner & Wall, 2015). Moreover, religious tourism has not been fully exploited due to the high sensitivity of the subject, the lack of scientific data and its overwhelming domestic nature in most countries (World Tourism Organization — UNWTO, 2011). Religious tourism (or as some researchers might refer to it as: faith tourism) can be defined as: “travel with the core motive of experiencing religious forms, or the products they induce, like art, culture, traditions and architecture” (FICCI Religious Tourism Report, 2012, p: 2). It can be divided into many different categories, and the FICCI Religious Tourism Report (2012) classified religious tourism into the following major categories: o o o o o o o o o

Pilgrimages. Missionary travel. Leisure (fellowship) vacations. Faith-based cruising. Crusades, conventions and rallies. Retreats. Monastery visits and guest-stays. Faith-based camps. Religious tourist attractions (FICCI, 2012, p: 3).

Examples of religious tourism activities include: Christian visitors to the Holy Land in Palestine, Hajj to Meccah in KSA, Jewish Pilgrims to holy graves in Israel, and Baha'i Pilgrimage Sites (Baha'i´ Gardens in Haifa, Israel) and Shia pilgrimage in Iran. Collins-Kreiner and Wall (2015) argue that the study of the relationship between religion and tourism focuses often separately on either religion or tourism and pays little attention to the actual interaction and/ or linkage between the two. A review of the related literature confirms Collins-Kreiner and Wall (2015) point of view. However, a good understanding of tourism cannot be established and/or developed without a good understanding about religion, its practises, and its impact of tourism activities and tourists (Collins-Kreiner & Wall, 2015). Hence, there is a great need to conduct much more research studies that can examine and investigate the interaction and/or linkage between tourism and different aspects of religion.

2.2. Islamic tourism Although Muslims make up one of the largest tourist markets in the world, knowledge related to the different Islamic perspective on tourism (regardless of the very powerful link between the two) is still less represented in the related literature (Eid & El-Gohary, 2015a). Although there are still some definitional ambiguities with regard to Islamic tourism concept (Henderson, 2010), there were some attempts to define it. The following Table 1 provides some of these definitions: As such, it is noticed that Islamic tourism focuses on many different issues such as: participation and engagement (by Muslims), tourism places and destinations (Islamic destinations), product(s) (residential places, food, entertainment, beverage, etc.), dimensions (social, economic, cultural, religious, etc.), and managing the offered service processes (marketing, ethical considerations, etc.) (Duman, 2011; Tajzadeh, 2013).

Please cite this article as: El-Gohary, H., Halal tourism, is it really Halal?, Tourism Management Perspectives (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.tmp.2015.12.013

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Table 1 Islamic tourism definitions. Author(s)

Definition

Islamic Tourism Centre — Malaysia (2015) Ala-Hamarneh (2011) Duman (2011) Henderson (2010) Hassan (2007) Shakiry (2006)

Any activity, event and experience undertaken in a state of travel that is in accordance with Islam An economic, cultural and religious (conservative) concept All tourism activities by Muslims that originate from Islamic motivations and are realised according to Syariah principles. All product development and marketing efforts designed for and directed at Muslims The type of tourism that adheres to the values of Islam All forms of tourism except those that go against Islamic values.

2.3. Halal tourism Halal tourism is considered as a subcategory of religious tourism. The word Halal (‫ )ﺣـﻼﻝ‬comes originally from Arabic language meaning: allowable, acceptable, permitted, and/or permissible. This word is the main source for the concept of Halal which is not only related to food or food products (as most people will expect or think), but it goes beyond food to cover all the aspects of a Muslim person life (male or female). Within this regard the concept of Halal is built around the need for any Muslim to have products that are allowable, acceptable, permitted, and permissible from a religious point of view. As such, the concept of Halal includes any Islamic Shari'ah-compliant product(s) which start with food and beverages and moves from it to cover banking and finance, tourism, cosmetics, jobs, travel and transport services, etc. For a product(s) to be Halal (compliant with Islamic Shari'ah) it must meet the requirements of Shari'ah as found in its sources. The two main sources of Islamic Shari'ah are the Quran (Muslims holy book) and the Sunnah (which are the teachings and guidance of Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him). As such, it is clear that Islamic Shari'ah has a great impact on tourism activities conducted by Muslims, as Shari'ah (through its sources) provides a frame of references for any Muslim to follow in his/her life. Consequently, it is very important to understand Islamic Shari'ah, its sources and its impact on tourism products provided by tourism organisations to Muslim customers. Islamic Shari'ah specifically designates by the term “Halal” those products that are permissible, lawful and unexceptionable for consumers. Shari'ahcompliant tourism products may therefore add value to Muslim consumers' purchasing experiences through the Islamic benefits that contribute to the value of the whole tourism experience (Eid & ElGohary, 2015a). Meanwhile, Halal tourism is one of the emerging concepts related to Halal and has been defined in many different ways and by many different scholars. Within this regard, Halbase (2015), defines it as: “Offering tour packages and destinations that are particularly designed to cater for Muslim considerations and address Muslim needs” (Halbase, 2015, page: 1). As such, the fundamentals of Halal tourism include components such as: Halal food, Halal transportation, Halal hotel, Halal logistics, Islamic finance, Islamic travel packages, and Halal spa (Razalli, Abdullah, & Hassan, 2012). In contrast to the concept of Halal, there is the concept of Haraam (‫ )ﺣـﺮﺍﻡ‬which comes originally from Arabic language and refers to the opposite of Halal and to what is not allowable, not acceptable, not permitted, not permissible, and against Islamic Shari'ah. As such, the concept of Haraam includes any product(s) that is not compliant with Islamic Shari'ah and its rules.

2.4. Halal tourism roots Tourism and Halal tourism is deeply rooted in Islamic Shari'ah and represent an important part of every Muslim life. Islam as a religion is built on five main pillars which are considered as mandatory by Muslim believers and represent the foundations of a Muslim life. These pillars are: Al Shahada (to say: Ashādu Ānā Lā ʾIlāha ʾIllā-Allāhu Wā Mohammadun Rasūlu-Allāh — There is no God but God (Allah) and Mohammad is the messenger of God), Al Salat (prayer — five times a

day), Al Zakāt (giving money for charity in light of accumulated wealth), Fasting the holy month of Ramadan, and Hajj (Pilgrimage to Meccah — KSA). As such, the importance of tourism in Islam becomes an undeniable fact as one of the pillars of Islam (Hajj) requires every Muslim to travel to Meccah to conduct Pilgrimage. Although Islam is built around these five pillars, such pillars are not (by any mean) the only requirements for any person to be a good Muslim. For any Muslim it is a religious compulsion to be kind to others, to be honest, and to consume only products that are permitted by God (Allah) and fall under the jurisdiction of Islamic Shari'ah. Within this regard, from an Islamic view point, Islamic Shari'ah-compliant tourism products generally refer to all the products that are in accordance with the instructions of God (Allah) and Prophet Mohammad (May peace be upon him). As such, observing and following Islamic Shari'ah principles is a requirement for every Muslim and sensitivity to the application of these principles is extremely important as religious deeds are not acceptable if they are not conducted appropriately (Eid & El-Gohary, 2015a) or if they are conducted in congestion with bad deeds. Moreover, tourism in Islam is not only related to Hajj (Pilgrimage) and Umrah, as Muslims can travel and/or conduct Halal tourism activities for other reasons, such as: o o o o o o

To visit The Prophet (peace be upon him). Local traditions. To worship God. The search for knowledge and learning. To learn lessons and receive reminders. To ponder the wonders of God creation and to enjoy the beauty of this great universe (Al-Munajjid, 2015; Hussain, 2015)

2.5. Halal tourism principles Key Muslim tourist unique needs include observance of their religious obligations such as: daily prayers, modesty in clothing, crossgender interactions and Halal food (The World Halal Travel Summit, 2015). Although, there are no written formal Halal tourism principles and/or key requirements, unfortunately not many researchers and practitioners have provided discussion and guidance in this regard and it is still very much under-represented in the literature. Although Almulla Hospitality (2007), Rosenberg and Choufany (2009), Henderson (2010), Sahida, Rahman, Awang, and Man (2011), Battour et al. (2010) and Saad, Ali, and Abdel-Ati (2014) provided good grounds for a discussion about Halal tourism principles and/or key requirements, there is still a great need to have formal written Halal tourism principles. By reviewing the related literature as well as published materials by Halal tourism organisations, providers and practitioners, the following list for Halal tourism principles and/or key requirements can be proposed: o o o o o

No alcohol to be served. No nightclubs. Halal food only to be served. No ham or pork or similar products to be served. Male staff for single male floors.

Please cite this article as: El-Gohary, H., Halal tourism, is it really Halal?, Tourism Management Perspectives (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.tmp.2015.12.013

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o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Female staff for women and families. Female staff for single female floors. In-house religious figures. Conservative TV channels (appropriate entertainment). Prayer rooms. Muslim staff members. Islamic dressing code for staff uniforms (conservative staff dress). Copies of Quran in each room. Prayer mats in each room. Markers indicating direction of Meccah. Separate facilities (such as gyms, swimming pools, etc.). Gender-segregated prayer rooms. Art should not depict human form. Beds and toilet positioned so as not to face the direction of Meccah. Bidets in the bathrooms. Guest suitable dressing code. Islamic funding. Hotel (and other tourism companies) should follow Zakat principles. [Adopted from: Almulla Hospitality (2007), Rosenberg and Choufany (2009), Henderson (2010), Sahida et al. (2011), Battour et al. (2010) and Saad et al. (2014)]. By looking at the proposed list of Halal tourism principles and/or key requirements, it is obvious that such principles and/or key requirements are not going to be equally recognised by all Muslims as some will attribute differing degrees of importance to the principles and/or key requirements, and some will have higher importance than others. Within this regard, it is expected that basic needs (such as: Halal food, absence of alcohol, absence of ham or pork, a copy of the Quran in every room, prayer rooms, Islamic dressing code for staff uniforms, prayer mats, markers indicating direction of Meccah, suitable guest dressing code) will have a higher level of importance. This is supported by the findings of The World Halal Travel Summit (2015). According to them, basic needs (such as Halal food, absence of alcohol, prayer spaces and Ramadan accommodation) are a must for Muslim majority countries. Moreover, in a global survey jointly conducted by Dinar Standard and Crescent Rating in 2011, Halal food and a Muslim-friendly experience stood as the top unique Muslim tourist market needs (The World Halal Travel Summit, 2015). However, not every Muslim will follow the complete guidance of Islamic Shari'ah and not every Muslim is a performing Muslim. As such, some Muslims might not see Halal tourism principles as an important factor when making a decision regarding their travel preferences. Within this regard, Nassar, Mostafa, and Reisinger (2015) found that Muslimfriendly amenities and quality of service did not affect Kuwaitis' travel decisions. In contrast they found that travel motivation as well as cognitive and affective image had the largest significant effects on the Kuwaiti travellers' intention to visit Islamic destinations. 3. Should it be Halal tourism or Islamic tourism? Researchers, academics, businesses and practitioners are using a variety of terms to refer to Halal tourism market. Such terms are used interchangeably among such groups. The review of the related literature (as well as Halal tourism market) has revealed that one of the main obstacles to developing Halal tourism potential is the absence of a clear conceptualisation of Halal tourism purpose and definition. The majority of researchers within the field misuse the term Halal tourism and are using it with other terms interchangeably as if they are very similar or have the same meaning, which might not be correct (in most cases). Among the terms used in this regard: o Halal tourism. o Islamic tourism. o Islamic travel.

o o o o

Halal travel. Muslim-friendly tourism. Shari'ah tourism. Halal transportation.

Regardless of the term(s) used to describe Halal tourism, the core meaning for all of them is related to compliance with the rules and guidance of the Halal concept and Islamic Shari'ah. However, it should be noticed that Islamic tourism differs from Halal tourism. Describing a certain activity or product(s) as “Islamic” gives an indication that such activity or product(s) is fully meeting all the rules, guidance and requirements of Islamic Shari'ah (which might not be the case in every single Halal tourism product and/or activity). Moreover, branding Halal tourism as “Islamic tourism” might give a wrong impression that such tourism activities and/or products are only for Muslim customers, which is not true as non-Muslim customers can also consume Halal tourism products for many different reasons (as illustrated later on in part 5 of this paper). As such, it is preferred to use the term “Halal tourism” as the main and only term to brand and describe tourism products and/or activities that have full compliance with the rules and guidance of the Halal concept and Islamic Shari'ah. This gives a much better way of understanding the true nature and meaning of such type of tourism activities. 4. Is Halal tourism really Halal? For a tourism product(s) and/or activities to be Halal it should have full compliance with the rules and guidance of the Halal concept and Islamic Shari'ah. Although a lot of worldwide Halal tourism providers assure their customers that they are offering a complete Halal product(s), the author does believe that this is not true because many Halal tourism providers do not fully meet the requirements of Islamic Shari'ah and/or the Halal concept. For example, some Halal tourism providers provide Halal tourism packages that are suitable for Muslims and are considered to be Muslim friendly through providing Halal food, suitable dress codes for staff members and segregation of facilities. However, such Halal tourism providers (hotels, companies, etc.) may still be conducting non-Halal (Haram) activities within their premises (e.g. providing alcohol and non Halal food to other customer, offering dancing and nightclubs with alcohol to other non-Muslims customers, allowing un-conservative TV channels, etc.). Taking that into consideration and in light of the rules, guidance and requirements of Islamic Shari'ah, what such Halal tourism providers are offering to Muslim customers cannot be considered completely Halal. According to Islamic Shari'ah, it is forbidden to sell or provide alcohol as part of conducting any type of business (which of course includes the tourism and hospitality industry and all its sectors). It is forbidden for a Muslim to touch or drink alcohol or any beverage that contains alcohol, to be in place that serve alcohol (according to some Islamic scholars), and to trade in alcohol. The Quran clearly illustrates that alcohol is completely forbidden, as mentioned in The Holy Quran (Surat Al Maeda): “O ye who believe! Strong drink and gambling (games of chance) and idols and divining arrows are only an infamy of Satan's handiwork. Leave it aside in order that ye may succeed. (90) Satan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God, and from prayer: Will ye not then refrain?” (The Holy Quran, Surat Al Maeda; Juza/chapter 7: Hizb 13, verse 90–91). It is also against the rules, guidance and requirements of Islamic Shari'ah for a Muslim to be in a place that does not (to a degree) follow Islamic Shari'ah. As such, Halal tourism providers who are not offering complete Halal tourism products are actually harming the concept of Halal tourism because they are offering some Muslim groups an excuse

Please cite this article as: El-Gohary, H., Halal tourism, is it really Halal?, Tourism Management Perspectives (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.tmp.2015.12.013

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to avoid conducting approved tourism activities if such activities are not directly related to Islam (e.g. Hajj and Umrah). There is also a danger that it provides a chance for some commentators to recall what can be considered as some anti-tourism statements from the Islamic literature that might give the wrong impression that Islam does not encourage tourism or the impression that such anti-tourism statements are true. With regard to this, according to Al-Munajjid (2015), Ibn Haani' narrated that Ahmad ibn Hanbal (an important Muslim scholar and theologian — 780–855 CE) was asked: Is a man who travels about dearer to you, or one who stays in his city? Ibn Haani' narrated that Ahmad ibn Hanbal answered: Siyaahah (tourism–travel) has nothing to do with Islam, and it is not the action of the Prophets or the righteous. Such a statement (in the view of the author) does not reflect the true nature of tourism from an Islamic point of view. It is understood that some Halal tourism providers face many problems and issues when offering Halal tourism product (e.g. as a result of the quality grading systems in some countries, some hotels cannot avoid providing alcohol to its customers, not every Muslim will avoid drinking alcohol, not all hotels are only serving Muslim customers). Meanwhile, there are some challenges that affect the potential of Halal tourism in some countries, sectors and/or destinations. Saad et al. (2014) proposed and investigated the following challenges that might have an impact on hotels when offering Halal tourism product(s): o Deprivation of the insertion in the international or local hotel classifications. o Competition with other non-Islamic hotels o The need for specific criteria appropriated to the international hotel classifications. o The absence of revenue from the sales of alcohol (which affects food and beverage profits). o Capacity management is demanded (due to the requirement of gender segregation). o Innovation is essential, through providing unique services next to the observance of Islamic legitimacy controls (which might increase the cost of the offered service). o Designs and development must reflect the spirit and culture of Islam (not only for the design of buildings, but also in providing the remaining services). o Absence of a federation that should organise and establish the Halal hotel general framework and provide a code of ethics for hotels working in this field o Media attack (either by competitors or by the anti-Islamic notions in some countries). o Lack of Halal tourism educational institutions. o Lack of Shari'ah-compliant funding resources. o Rates provided to customers must be appropriate to the services provided, and not overpriced. o Highly competitive hospitality market. o The lack of presence of a Shari'ah Supervisory Board which is familiar with the nature and environment of hotel work. (adopted from: Saad et al., 2014) However, such issues, challenges, and difficulties are no excuse for tourism providers to use the label “Halal tourism” to describe or brand their products as “Halal products” if not fully meeting the rules, guidance and requirements of Islamic Shari'ah and/or the Halal concept. In such cases, such products can be labelled “Muslim Friendly” instead of “Halal tourism products”. By reviewing Halal tourism packages provided by Halal tourism providers in non-Islamic countries and even in Islamic countries (e.g. Egypt, Turkey), it is noticed that the majority of such Halal tourism packages are not fully Halal as they fail to comply with the rules, guidance and requirements of Islamic Shari'ah and/or the Halal concept. Almost all of these Halal tourism packages were offered to meet the needs of Muslim customers in a Muslim-friendly way, but are not fully Halal. Accordingly,

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in light of current practises by most Halal tourism providers and companies (especially in non-Muslim countries), it is hard to accept that Halal tourism is really Halal. In best cases, they are just “Muslim friendly” tourism. 5. Is Halal tourism only about Islamic countries? And is it only for Muslims? As a result of the high importance of Halal tourism, even nonMuslim majority countries (such as Spain, India, the UK) are also aggressively targeting Halal tourism sector(s) (The World Halal Travel Summit, 2015). Moreover, Chanin, Sriprasert, Rahman, and Don (2015) in their study about Halal tourism management in the Andaman sea coast of Thailand, demonstrated that due to the demand from the Muslim market towards Halal services, it is essential for Thailand to develop a concept for Halal tourism to be enforced by the Government of Thailand. Similarly Halbase (2015) argued that as Halal tourism gained popularity and became a new phenomenon in the tourism industry, countries across the globe should not miss on the opportunity to tap into this market. As such, Halal tourism is not only about Islamic countries as it is also very important for other non-Muslim countries. Meanwhile, although Halal tourism is mainly for Muslims or Muslim families who abide by Islamic Shari'ah rules when consuming tourism products, it is not by definition only exclusive for Muslims. The term Halal tourism refers to including the Halal and Islamic elements to the product(s), product mix, marketing mix, products portfolio provided to the customer to make the product(s) compliant with Islamic Shari'ah. Accordingly, Halal tourism is also available for non-Muslims who might want to take advantage of Halal tourism or one of its benefits (e.g. a Jewish family living in Israel and eating Halal food when travelling outside Israel as an alternative for kosher food while staying in a Halal hotel; non-Muslims eating Halal food when travelling as a healthier alternative food while staying in a Halal hotel; some non-Muslim conservative religious group who prefer to use Halal tourism products due to segregation of facilities, or conservative TV channels, or dress codes for staff uniforms). Moreover, due to its universal nature, Halal tourism can also be enjoyed by non-Muslims (Islamic Tourism Centre, 2015). 6. Impacts of non-compliance to Halal principles on performance? Although Halal tourism is mainly considered as a type of tourism that covers a niche market within the industry, it is one of the fastest growing sectors of world-wide tourism. According to The World Halal Travel Summit (2015), Halal tourism (excluding Hajj and Umrah), is set to exceed $230 Billion by 2020. One of the main factors affecting the size of Halal tourism market is the size of Muslim population around

Fig. 1. Population growth projections of world religions 2010–2050. Source: Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life's (2015)

Please cite this article as: El-Gohary, H., Halal tourism, is it really Halal?, Tourism Management Perspectives (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.tmp.2015.12.013

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the world (Fig. 1). According to Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life's (2015), not only I the world's Muslim population expected to rise to 2.2 billion by 2030 (with an increase of 26.4% than the world Muslim population in 2014), but also Muslims are the only major religious group projected to increase faster than the world's population as a whole (Fig. 2). Moreover, most of the world Muslim population is of an age that allows them to travel extensively. Meanwhile, according to The World Halal Travel Summit (2015), in 2014 the outbound tourism expenditure by Muslims world-wide reached $151 billion (excluding Hajj and Umrah). Moreover, this expenditure is expected to reach $238 billion by 2019 (The World Halal Travel Summit, 2015). The top ten countries in Halal outbound tourism expenditure were: Saudi Arabia, Islamic Republic of Iran, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Turkey, and Nigeria (Table 2). The following table illustrates the top Muslim tourism expenditure countries (in US$ Billion) in 2014. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait represented 31% of global Muslim travellers' expenditure, but only account for 3% of the global Muslim population (The World Halal Travel Summit, 2015). Accordingly, considering the size of Halal tourism market, world Muslim population, Muslim tourists' expenditure, and the flow of Muslim visitors to other countries; a recognition of the importance of Halal tourism as well as the different factors affecting Muslim tourists and their decision making should enable hotels and other tourism organisations and hospitality companies to develop more sophisticated well positioned strategies and products that can help such organisations in achieving its performance targets. Ignoring the needs of Muslim tourists can only lead to a massive negative impact on performance on hotels and other tourism organisations and hospitality companies. Such a negative impact can lead to: o o o o o o o

Low income Low profit levels Low customers satisfaction levels Low customers loyalty Low competitive levels Losing competitive advantage Bad destination image

7. Conclusion Religious studies and research have attracted significant interest and considerable attention from researchers and practitioners recently as a result of the growing demand to know more about religions (such as: Islam) as well as religiosity. Regardless of the importance of religious studies, religious tourism is still very much under-represented in the

Fig. 2. Age distribution of world religions 2010–2050. Source: Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life's (2015)

Table 2 Top Muslim tourism expenditure countries (US$ Billion). Source: The World Halal Travel Summit (2015) Expenditure country

Muslim tourism expenditure

Saudi Arabia Islamic Republic of Iran United Arab Emirates Qatar Kuwait Indonesia Malaysia Russia Turkey Nigeria

$ 17.8 $ 14.3 $ 11.2 $ 7.8 $ 7.7 $ 7.5 $ 5.7 $ 5.4 $ 4.5 $ 4.4

literature. However, the close relationship between tourism and religion has been addressed in the literature on tourism in many different ways. Although some aspects of religious tourism (e.g. Islamic tourism) seems to be a new concept for most of researchers and practitioners in the field of tourism, this is not true as such concepts are very old and Islamic tourism is well rooted in Islamic Shari'ah and can be traced to the early days of the Islamic civilisation. Within this regard, Islamic Shari'ah has a great impact on travelling and encouraging tourism as Muslim travellers are considered to be closer to God and their Doaa (asking God for something) and prayers are more responded to while travelling. Furthermore, the religious responsibilities for travellers are less. Moreover, tourism and Halal tourism represent an important part of every Muslim life. Islam as a religion is built on five main pillars and the importance of tourism in Islam becomes an undeniable fact as one of the pillars of Islam (Hajj) requires every Muslim to travel to Meccah to conduct Pilgrimage. A review of the related literature confirms that the study of the relationship between religion and tourism focuses often separately on either religion or tourism and pays little attention to the actual interaction and/or linkage between the two. Nevertheless, a good understanding of tourism cannot be established and/or developed without a good understanding about religion, its practises, and its impact of tourism activities and tourists (Collins-Kreiner & Wall, 2015). Although there remain some definitional ambiguities with regard to the Islamic tourism concept (Henderson, 2010), there have been attempts to define it. Regardless of such definitions, it is noticed that Islamic tourism focuses on many different issues such as participation and engagement (by Muslims), tourism places and destinations (Islamic destinations), product(s) (residential places, food, entertainment, beverage, etc.), dimensions (social, economic, cultural, religious, etc.), and managing the offered service processes (marketing, ethical considerations, etc.) (Duman, 2011; Tajzadeh, 2013). Meanwhile, Halal tourism is considered as a subcategory of religious tourism and is one of the emerging concepts related to Halal and it has been defined in many different ways and by many different scholars. Considering such definitions, the concept of Halal is built around the need for any Muslim to have products that are allowable, acceptable, permitted, and permissible from a religious point of view. Regardless of the term(s) used to describe Halal tourism, the core meaning for all of them is related to compliance with the rules and guidance of the Halal concept and Islamic Shari'ah. However, it should be noticed that Islamic tourism is different than Halal tourism. As describing a certain activity or product(s) as “Islamic” gives an indication that such activity or product(s) is fully meeting all the rules, guidance and requirements of Islamic Shari'ah (which might not be the case in every single Halal tourism product and/or activity). Moreover, branding Halal tourism as “Islamic tourism” might give a wrong impression that such tourism activities and/or products are only for Muslim customers, which is not true as non-Muslim customers can also consume Halal tourism products for many reasons. Although Halal tourism is mainly for Muslims or Muslim families who abide by Islamic Shari'ah rules

Please cite this article as: El-Gohary, H., Halal tourism, is it really Halal?, Tourism Management Perspectives (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.tmp.2015.12.013

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when consuming tourism products, it is not by definition only exclusive for Muslims. As such, it is preferred to use the term “Halal tourism” as the main and only term to brand and describe tourism products and/or activities that have full compliance with the rules and guidance of Halal concept and Islamic Shari'ah. Meanwhile, for a tourism product(s) and/or activities to be Halal it should have full compliance with the rules and guidance of Halal concept and Islamic Shari'ah. By reviewing Halal tourism packages provided by Halal tourism providers in non-Islamic countries and even in Islamic countries (e.g. Egypt, Turkey), it is noticed that the majority of such Halal tourism packages are not fully Halal as they fail to be fully compliant with Islamic Shari'ah and/or the Halal concept. Yet almost all of these Halal tourism packages were offered to meet the needs of Muslim customers in a Muslim-friendly way. Accordingly, in light of current practises by most Halal tourism providers and companies (especially in nonMuslim countries), it is hard to accept that Halal tourism is really Halal. Considering the size of Halal tourism market, the world's Muslim population, Muslim tourists' expenditure, and the flow of Muslim visitors to other countries; a recognition of the importance of Halal tourism as well as the different factors affecting Muslim tourists, their needs and their decision making should enable hotels and other tourism organisations and hospitality companies to develop more sophisticated well posited strategies and products that can help such organisations to achieve their performance targets. Ignoring such needs for Muslim tourists by hotels and other tourism organisations and hospitality companies can lead to a massive negative impact on performance. Such negative impact can lead to: low income, low profit levels, low customers satisfaction levels, low customers loyalty, low competitive levels, losing competitive advantage, and bad destination image. Many researchers (e.g. Collins-Kreiner & Wall, 2015) argue that the study of the relationship between religion and tourism focuses often separately on either religion or tourism and pays little attention to the actual interaction and/or linkage between the two. A review of the related literature confirms such a point of view. However, a good understanding of tourism cannot be established and/or developed without a good understanding about religion, its practises, and its impact of tourism activities and tourists (Collins-Kreiner & Wall, 2015). Hence, there is a great need to conduct much more research that can examine and investigate the interaction and/or linkage between tourism and different aspects of religion. Such future research studies need to focus not only on the relationship between tourism and different aspects of all religions (not only Islam), but it also needs to investigate current practises by Halal tourism providers and relate such practises to the principles of Islamic Shari'ah. Moreover, much more research is needed to examine and investigate Halal tourism activities in non-Muslim countries as such countries are less represented in the related literature. References Ala-Hamarneh (2011). Islamic tourism: A long term strategy of tourist industries in the Arab world after 9/11, Centre for Research on the Arab World, 2011. available from http://www.staff.uni-mainz.de/alhamarn/Islamic%20Tourism%20-%20paper% 20for%20BRISMES%202004.htm (accessed on: 8/12/2015) Almulla Hospitality (2007). Almulla launches world's first Sharia compliant hotel brand portfolio, press release. (24 October 2007). Al-Munajjid, M. (2015). Travel and tourism (siyaahah) in Islam — Rulings and types, Islam Question and answer. found at http://islamqa.info/en/87846 (accessed on: 5/ 12/2015) Battour, M.M., Ismail, M.N., & Battor, M. (2010). Toward a Halal tourism market. Tourism Analysis, 15(4), 461–470. Chanin, O., Sriprasert, P., Rahman, H.A., & Don, M.S. (2015). Guidelines on Halal tourism management in the Andaman sea coast of Thailand, journal of economics. Business Management, 3(8), 791–794. Collins-Kreiner, N., & Wall, G. (2015). Tourism and religion: Spiritual journeys and their consequences. The Changing World Religion Map (pp. 689–707). Netherlands: Springer. Duman, T. (2011). Value of Islamic tourism offering: Perspectives from the Turkish experience, World Islamic Tourism Forum (WITF, 2011), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. available from http://www.iais.org.my/icr/index.php/icr/article/viewFile/13/12 (accessed on: 8/12/2015)

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Please cite this article as: El-Gohary, H., Halal tourism, is it really Halal?, Tourism Management Perspectives (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.tmp.2015.12.013