categories.
“Indonesia is the country with world’s largest Muslim population but we have not explored halal tourism,” Arief said at a press conference on Wednesday, while admitting that until no concerted promotional efforts for halal tourism were in place.
According to him, the marketing focus of halal tourism will be more on lifestyle than religious affairs, although it is also concerned with infrastructure and services to accommodate prayers, as well as halal foods.
The Global Muslim Travel Index 2015 report noted that the tourist segment was worth US$145 billion, with 108 million Muslim travelers representing 10 percent of the entire travel economy. It is expected to grow in worth to $200 billion with 150 million travelers by 2020.
Arief also cited that Indonesia, with 2 million tourist visits for halal tourism last year, still lagged behind Thailand, which boasted 6 million tourists last year for its halal tourism, and neighbor Malaysia, which recorded 5 million tourists.
“I would like to increase it to 5 million tourist visits [for halal tourism] by 2019,” he added.
The halal tourists, who usually came from Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East and China, also recorded higher than average tourist spending at US$1,500 per person, from the average $1,200 per person, according to ministry data.
The ministry has also set a target to attract 310,000 Middle East tourists next year from the previous target of 250,000.
There were 195,518 Middle Eastern tourists recorded in 2014, higher than the 188,676 in 2013. Meanwhile, Malaysian tourist visits stood at more than 1.48 million people at 2014, slightly higher than 1.43 million in 2013.
He said that the ministry would allocate 10 percent of its promotional budget for halal tourism in the proposed state budget for 2016, which was estimated to stand at Rp 4 trillion ($291.4 million).
Lombok, which has long been merely an extension of Bali in terms of tourist visits, is set to be promoted as a halal tourist destination.
The ministry previously set three provinces in Indonesia, namely Aceh, West Sumatra and Lombok of West Nusa Tenggara as halal tourist destinations.
Lombok, which has a predominately Muslim population, is home to around 10,000 mosques, according to Deputy West Nusa Tenggara Governor M. Amin.
The destinations have been promoted around Muslim religious events such as during Idul Adha, as well as the ministry’s events such as Tour de Singkarak, according to Arief.
Meanwhile, Sofyan Hotels president director Zaki Jauhar said that the hotel chain had fully complied with the halal standard of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and provided qibla (direction of prayer) Korans, as well as halal foods for its customers, among other things.
“We don’t brand or hotel as a halal hotel physically, but we do promote it as one on our websites. We promise comfort and a friendly atmosphere,” he said, adding that non-Muslim tourists from Japan and European continent also stayed at the hotel.
The hotel chain, which comprises one-to four-star hotels, has seen an average occupancy rate of 50 percent this year, although it increased to 60 percent during this year’s peak season in October. The majority of the hotel’s customers came from Malaysia, he said. (fsu)
See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/10/22/ri-further-develop-halal-tourism.html#sthash.VfcEW4Rp.dpuf