SIGNIFICANCE
OF MUSLIM TRAVELLERS IN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC TOURISM
1.
Increasing
currency
Fenomena
ringgit's depreciation beginning early 2017 has rebounded as the country's
currency stabilized past the RM4 psychological level against the US dollar in
early January. The ringgit in February rallied around RM3.88 to RM3.93, thereby
giving a positive picture for Malaysia and denying allegations from various quarters
that the state of the economy is in a state of danger. In general, there are
various things that affect the value of the ringgit, one of which is
tourism especially in the exchange of
currency. If more foreign tourists come to our country, foreign currency
exchanges will actively work. When it is in operation, the value of the
currency will increase in the world and it will increase the country's economy.
2.
Promote job
opportunities
Ministry of Tourism and Culture
aims to double the number of tourists in 2018 compared to 17.34 million
tourists in the first eight months of this year. Its secretary-general Rashidi
Hasbullah said they targeted 33.1 million tourists with a total of RM118
billion from tourist receipts next year.
As the number of tourists traveling is
increasing, this has indirectly provided a great deal of employment
opportunities to the locals. For example, when Muslim tourists are traveling,more
hotels will be built and job demand will increase.This
has impacted the local population in offering them various job opportunities
and thus reducing the unemployment rate in a country.
3.
Build
good relationship between Muslim and non-Muslim
Because of the
attitudes of Malaysian people and Islamic aggression built
among Muslims in Malaysia, foreign tourists have been attracted
to Muslim people in
Malaysia. For example,Mat Dan an overseas person
who has come to Malaysia and has been attracted to the life of the Muslim ummah in Malaysia until he has embraced Islam and was married with Muslim person.
4.
Provide space for
specific tourist
There is the argument
of the prophet Muhammad who has forbidden women to walk with men in a way that
can cause intercourse (ikhtilat). There is a narrative of the Prophet who
explained that he had seen the mix between men and women on the street and then
asked the women to walk by the roads to avoid the occurrence of their tithing.
These arguments clearly show that the prohibition of ikhtilat between men and
women is more subtle, which may lead to slander.The above things have clearly shown that Islam forbids his people to mix
between men and women who are not mahram. Because of this, many countries have
created special carriages for women only.This has provided
comfort and ensure safety to Muslim tourists
especially women.
5.
Halal
food industry
·
Islamic tourism, of which Halal food is a critical component, is a
striking phenomenon yielding valuable opportunities for the tourism industry
worldwide. To realise these opportunities, tourism businesses must understand
the requirements of Muslim tourists and take the necessary measures to satisfy
them without inconveniencing non-Muslim customers.
·
One of the example restaurant that provide Halal food is Halal Japanese Style BBQ
Restaurant Naritaya. From the view point of inbound services, they focus on Halal.
Because, the number of Muslims in the world has increased every year.They have been to Malaysia to learn genuine Halal. In
2014, they opened their first shop of
Japan in Tokyo. They
continuously opened in Kyoto (2014) and Miyagi (2015).They hope to provide a Japanese style BBQ as "100%
HALAL". It’s a concept of NARITAYA. They offered the supervision to KYOTO UMESHIN and get
started project of 100% HALAL BBQ NARITAYA. KYOTO UMESHIN is very popular
Japanese style BBQ restaurant to foreign customers in Kyoto. They believe that the most important thing is
considering customers satisfaction and it’s a great strength of Japanese
culture.
6.
Halal Certification
Agencies
Malaysia is a
reference to foreign countries in terms of halal standards and certification
because the systems used here conform to international
standards in the context of shariah, purity and security. This is enough to
prove Malaysia's halal industry and Malaysia's halal compliance is recognized
globally. The two-day convention is an annual program organized by JAKIM to
bring halal certification bodies from across the country, which can be said to
be the largest program with annual new members who have been certified with
halal certification recognized by JAKIM. Six certification bodies and halal
logos from Japan are among the 66 certifying bodies and overseas halal logos
recognized by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) worldwide.
Until now, among the recognized certification bodies and halal logos in Japan
are Japan Muslim Association, Japan Halal Association (JHA), Japan Halal Unit
Association (JHUA), Japan Islamic Trust (JIT), Muslim Professional Japan
Association (MPJA) and Nippon Asia Halal Association (NAHA).
7.
Infrastructure improvements
·
Many destinations across the world have
identified this potential and are adapting their offerings to better appeal to
the Muslim travel market. One such example is Japan. In a bid to diversify its
tourism industry, the Japanese Government is implementing plans to increase the
availability prayer facilities and other
Muslim-friendly facilities . As a result, Muslim visitor arrivals are
forecasted to hit 1 million by 2020 with a growth rate of over 18% over the
next few years.
·
Other examples such as the mosque moves in
Japan. The mosque can accommodate 50 pilgrims at a time.This mosque managed by Yasu Project Co.Ltd operates from a truck. Have a place to
take ablution and a very comfortable prayer room. Yasu Project Executive
Officer Junya Imamura was very serious in making this mosque so much that he
was willing to search at the Fukuoka mosque about 2 years ago. He did this because
he believed that more Muslim tourists came to Japan and some of them will stay
there.
8.
The existence of various online searches
A new website for Muslim travellers, which
includes a global directory of halal restaurants and
dedicated city guides, was launched recently in a bid to capitalise on the
growing number of Muslim tourists.The apps likes HalalTrip.com, offers a wide range of features for tourists wishing to
travel in accordance with the rules of Islam.It
also offers a global directory of halal restaurants, mosques and amenities
useful for the Muslim tourist. There are dedicated travel and city guides to
places such as Istanbul, Beijing, and Kuala Lumpur, highlighting places of
interest for the Islamic visitors. Crescentrating which is one of the company
that already runs a website which rates hotels, restaurants, airports and other
establishments using such criteria as having halal restaurants and prayer
rooms.
-sarah-
