Stronger collaboration between Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and non-OIC destinations will be critical to the future growth of Muslim-friendly tourism, according to speakers at the Halal in Travel Global Summit 2026.
Speaking during a panel session titled Cross-border collaboration: How OIC & non-OIC destinations can learn from each other, panellists said destinations should focus less on competition and more on knowledge-sharing to better serve the growing Muslim travel market.
Mahmood Godel, CEO of Halal 360, said both OIC and non-OIC destinations have strengths that can benefit the wider industry.
According to Mahmood, many OIC destinations have invested heavily in tourism infrastructure, destination branding, hospitality and digital transformation, while non-OIC destinations have developed expertise in visitor journey mapping, service standardisation, multilingual accessibility, data-driven tourism planning and customer experience management.
He added that OIC destinations possess advantages that are difficult to replicate, including a deep understanding of Muslim traveller expectations, integrated Muslim-friendly lifestyles and established hospitality traditions.
“The future is not about comparing OIC and non-OIC destinations,” he said. “The future is about building stronger ecosystems through shared learning.”
Mahmood noted that Muslim-friendly tourism is evolving beyond the provision of halal food and prayer facilities towards delivering higher-quality visitor experiences.
With the Muslim travel market projected to reach 245 million travellers by 2030, he said destinations will need to focus on service quality, staff awareness, family-friendly offerings, digital accessibility and traveller trust.
“The strongest ecosystems will not necessarily be those with the largest budgets. They will be those that learn faster, collaborate better and adapt more effectively.”
Liew Chian Jia, regional director, South-east Asia, at the Hong Kong Tourism Board, said OIC destinations benefit from large domestic Muslim consumer bases and deeply embedded halal ecosystems, creating a sense of familiarity for Muslim travellers.
She noted that halal dining options, prayer facilities and social norms are often integrated into daily life in OIC destinations, while non-OIC destinations such as Hong Kong must invest heavily in staff training, education and certification programmes to deliver similar levels of service.
Liew added that one of the main barriers to collaboration is that tourism boards are often measured by their ability to attract visitors and spending to their own destinations.
To address this, she suggested initiatives such as staff exchanges, joint training programmes and the sharing of best practices.
She said OIC destinations could offer expertise in frontline staff training and cultural understanding, while non-OIC destinations could contribute knowledge in areas such as digital infrastructure, destination marketing and visitor journey management.
The session was moderated by Irshad Cader, CEO and director of Globothink Halal Tourism Development Consultants.
