UN Tourism Outlines Vision on how to Develop Halal Tourism
24-25 April 2024
Virtual
UN Tourism presented its ideas on how to develop Halal tourism during an online workshop organized by the Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), the Ministry of National Development Planning of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT).
Highlights:
The online workshop brought together 220 experts, executives and representatives from Ministries and Government Agencies in OIC countries responsible for trade, industry, tourism, and Islamic affairs, as well as academia interested in Islamic economics, Halal industrial development, and related fields.
Topics covered during the two-day workshop included Halal certification standards, policy and regulatory frameworks, strategies and best practices aimed at developing a segment ranging from products, services and consumers to traditions, expectations, and the specific needs of Muslim travelers.
UN Tourism proposed to workshop participants the development of a unified Halal tourism certification framework that, for a start, would rest on two interlinked steps: an assessment of available Halal Tourism practices and standards, including a detailed assessment of the main standards and practices currently being implemented by those countries leading within the sphere of Halal tourism, followed by a Halal tourism Action Plan aimed at ensuring regulatory, legal and institutional consonance amongst participants.
If implemented, this joint Halal tourism framework, supported by capacity-building, would allow for common criteria and standards in Halal tourism, thus improving international competitiveness and overall service quality and excellence within participatory countries. The proposal was met with interest by participants, especially as a main deficiency identified is the current lack of unified global standards that could be adopted by the tourism industry.
Stay Tuned:
Together with SESRIC and other interested partners, UN Tourism will continue to explore the possibilities of such a technical cooperative approach.
