In marketing to the Muslim traveler, companies should be mindful of the differences between Islamic travel markets. Travels motivated by spiritual reasons – such as the Hajj and Umrah, pilgrimages in Pakistan, Iran or Israel – are different from pure holidays that are not motivated by religious reasons.
With pilgrimages (especially Hajj), many of the elements (e.g. access to the site, rituals, time) are regulated. Whereas for holidays, tourists usually travel for cooler climates – such as when the Ramadan falls in summer and Gulf families want to escape very hot temperatures – or they might travel to discover new countries like Korea and Japan.
Cedomir Nestorovic
While the motivations for these tourists may differ, travel sellers need not customize their marketing strategies too specifically. The elements for a traveler on a pilgrimage are quite fixed, so there is little capacity for travel sellers to innovate.
On the other hand, holiday-makers who choose to visit a particular city (e.g. Paris, Tokyo, or Singapore) expect to discover new things unique to that place. The experience needs to be different, otherwise, they would not have chosen to travel all the way there. Having said that, a certain amount of adaptation for halal meals and prayer facilities will be appreciated, and this can be easily arranged with practically any hotel.
Before committing to any form of investment, travel sellers should first identify the traveler profile they are targeting, because travelers come from countries with diverse backgrounds. These travelers may differ in several aspects, including purchasing power, cultural and social codes, religious teachings, and even political and legal conditions.
When it comes to purchasing power, an affluent customer who holds a strict observance of the Shariah likely has certain expectations of his accommodations, and a hotel operator would have to compute the trade-off.
Would a 5-star hotel segregate swimming pools and gyms, remove the mini bar from the rooms, restrict access to some floors, and close the night club? The compensation must be huge because a decision like that impacts not just the economic value, but also the reputation of the hotel. This is especially true if the property is part of an international chain, and the hotel has to respect the rules of the entire chain.
Separately, when it comes to the cultural differentiation and religious teachings, it is clear that a person from a Hanbali school of thought and Shafi/Hanefi school of thought will not require the same level of compliance with the Shariah. Companies looking to attract these travelers then may not have to make as many adjustments.
One of the most common pitfalls that travel sellers commit is to believe that Muslim consumers are all very rich, and that they ask for full compliance with the Shariah. If a hotel wants to cater only to this clientele, then it should consider transforming into a halal hotel.
In reality, Muslim travels do not justify the transformation of a hotel, because there would be insufficient number of guests and nights to sustain a complete transformation. It would be more feasible for a hotel to aim to be halal-friendly, where minimal changes are introduced to cater to Muslim travelers, yet not drive away the majority of non-Muslim consumers.
Nestorovic is the director, executive MBA Asia-Pacific at ESSEC Business School and the author of Islamic Marketing – Understanding the Socio-Economic, Cultural, and Politico-Legal Environment.
Contributed by Cedomir Nestorovic
