INDONESIA will host the first international forum on Muslim tourism among the members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on June 1-2 in Jakarta.
The 1st OIC International Forum on Islamic Tourism will discuss the prospects and challenges facing this industry, touching on subjects including the growing contribution of Islamic tourism in socio-economic development; the strategy behind the successful integration of Islamic values in tourism activities; as well as product and service delivery, and branding and positioning strategies in marketing Islamic tourism.
Sapta Nirwandar, vice minister, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, said: “The world’s Muslim population accounted for 6.9 billion or 23.4 per cent of the total population in 2012, with total spending on halal food and beverage of US$1.1 billion (17 per cent of total annual spend). Muslim travellers spent US$137 billion on travel in 2012.”
Sapta said while other countries without Muslim majorities like South Korea and China were investing in Muslim-friendly products, it was about time members of the OIC worked on developing the market.
Speakers at the conference will include Fatou Mas Jobe-Njie, Gambia’s minister of tourism and culture; Mohamed Nazri bin Abdul Aziz, minister of tourism and culture for Malaysia; Manabu Sakai, vice minister of land, infrastructure and transport Japan, and representatives of different businesses.
