Halal tourism certification could give hospitality businesses an added health and safety advantage, opined speakers at MITE 2026’s dialogue session, Muslim Tourism Opportunities Salon – Insights into New Opportunities in Muslim Tourism: Exploring New Cultural and Tourism Channels for Macao last week.
Panellist, Sharifa Leung, who is general manager of GBA Halal Certification Centre, stated that halal certification is beneficial for everyone, as it offers “an additional layer of safety” since assessment considers products that are of “high quality, from farm to fork and farm to table”.
“The process is comparable to HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point),” stated Leung, adding that businesses pursuing halal certification also uphold “verification and traceability”.
Panel moderator Jacky So, former president of the Greater Bay Area (Macao) Halal Industry Chamber of Commerce, echoed Leung’s view that certified halal food “denotes a healthy product”.
He believes that Macao and Hong Kong could work together to achieve synergy in Muslim tourism development, and that Macao’s private-public partnership is an effective way to improve Macao’s welcome to Muslim visitors.
The panel also discussed challenges in halal tourism development.
Speaker Willie Tay, general manager of Regency Art Hotel in Macao, said staff education was “the most difficult” part of his property’s halal certification process.
“Our new halal restaurant was certified in 2024 after a long research process. The hardest part of the journey was to train our staff to understand, respect, and execute the work needed to cater to different religions,” said Tay.
“You have to be committed to study and understand the culture, needs, and tradition. The more you understand, the better you can deliver the service,” Tay concluded.
Mark Yip, director of Hong Kong-based In-Mart, which retails Indonesian food supply, agreed that the “lack of understanding or knowledge about halal food remains a challenge” in Hong Kong.
“We want to inform people in Hong Kong that halal certified food is not just for Muslims,” said Yip.
In Macao, Muslim-friendly tourism development has attracted keen attention. The Macao Tourism Industry Development Master Plan explicitly stresses the importance of Muslim tourism, and the government has adopted a multi-pronged approach for this segment, with attention paid to marketing, promotion, and certification.
Jennifer Si Tou, deputy director of Macao Government Tourism Office, said such efforts ensure that both infrastructure and frontline services are well prepared to meet the needs of Muslim visitors.
Macao has been included for the first time in the Global Muslim Travel Index 2025 (GMTI) ranking, published by CrescentRating and Mastercard. This recognises Macao’s ongoing efforts to cater to Muslim travellers.
The GMTI 2025 ranks Macao fifth globally in the Muslim women-friendly travel destination category, 16th in the overall ranking as a Muslim-friendly destination, and as one of the top Muslim-friendly accessible destinations – all among non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation destinations.
