The Association of Indonesian Travel Agents (ASTINDO) launched the first ASTINDO Muslim Friendly Travel Fair 2025 in Jakarta last week. The event aims to capture the rapidly growing Muslim travel segment, reflecting a shift in global tourism trends.
Pauline Suharno, president of ASTINDO, explained that the decision to host the fair was “backed by both growing demand from Indonesian Muslim travellers and increasing readiness of global destinations, including non-Muslim-majority countries, to serve this market”.
She cited the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2024, which shows that Muslim-friendly travel is no longer dominated solely by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. Non-OIC countries such as Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, and Taiwan are now actively competing to provide Muslim-friendly facilities.
According to Pauline, the GMTI scores of these non-OIC destinations are “almost equal to OIC countries, between 52–66”, indicating their commitment, which was further reflected by the presence of tourism boards from Hong Kong, Thailand, and South Korea at the fair. She identified the two key factors that constitute Muslim-friendly travel as “halal-certified or Muslim-friendly food, then prayer time and facility arrangements”.
This trend extends to cruise operators. While early offerings had limited halal options, Pauline noted that new models were taking a comprehensive approach.
“Now there are fully halal cruises. The restaurants are halal, the food is halal, and the entertainment is Islamic-themed. There are no casinos,” she said.
The inaugural fair featured 16 travel agents, three National Tourism Organisations (NTOs), one airline, and various Indonesian travel-related companies, with BCA and BCA Syariah as the main banking partners providing special payment promotions.
The fair showcased a wide range of Muslim-friendly destinations, including Umrah packages, as well as tours to Japan, Turkey, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Western Europe, South Africa, and South America. The ASTINDO Muslim Friendly Travel Fair is planned to become an annual event.
Among the exhibitors, Panorama JTB showcased its Moslem Tour division, which has seen consistent growth since late 2021. Winda Kartika Nofita Sari, a travel consultant at the division, confirmed that “every month it always goes”, noting the consistent departures and rising demand.
Winda explained the creation of this specific division: “The Indonesian Muslim traveller market is quite large, and their concern when travelling abroad is inevitably how to pray. That’s what we facilitate.”
She elaborated that while destinations may be the same, the packages ensure a Muslim and professional tour leader, guaranteed halal/Muslim-friendly dining, and structured prayer arrangements. The company’s highlight product for the fair was the Sapporo-Hokkaido year-end package, a seven-day/five-night direct charter flight via Garuda Indonesia, exclusively for Panorama JTB, priced at a discount of four million rupiah (US$3,236).
