Malaysia’s Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) has launched the Muslim Friendly Accommodation Recognition, a form of accreditation for Shariah-compliant accommodation targeting Muslim tourists in the country.
The accreditation, the combined work of the Department of Standards Malaysia and ITC, is said to be the only recognition of its kind in the world issued by a government agency.
ITC’s director general, Abdul Khani Daud, said: “The Muslim Friendly Accommodation Recognition is a continuation of the Star Ratings conducted by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC). Most of the Muslim-friendly components already existed in the Star Ratings criteria. It emphasises elements such as the hotel providing at least one halal-certified restaurant; conducive facilities such as prayer mats, qibla direction, and daily prayer time information; and segregated swimming pools, spa and gymnasium.”
During the launch, ITC also recognised 12 Muslim-friendly hotels in Malaysia which it had rated earlier this year. The hotels are: Movenpick Hotel & Convention Centre KLIA; Hotel Grand Bluewave Shah Alam; The Light Hotel Penang; Adya Hotel Langkawi; PNB Perdana Hotel & Suites On the Park Kuala Lumpur; PNB Perdana Kota Bharu; TH Hotel & Convention Centre Terengganu; Zenith Putrajaya; Tamu Hotel & Suites Kuala Lumpur; PNB Ilham Resort Port Dickson; Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu; and Grand Darul Makmur Hotel in Kuantan.
By the end of this year, Abdul hopes that all hotels in the Klang Valley will be rated. He was also quick to point out that most hotels in Malaysia are already Muslim-friendly, but have yet to be given the Muslim Friendly Accommodation Recognition.
“The Muslim Friendly Accommodation Recognition by MOTAC through ITC is one of the strategies in assisting hoteliers to market their premises to the Muslim market,” Abdul added.
Malaysian minister of tourism, arts and culture, Mohammadin Ketapi, said: “The implementation of the Muslim Friendly accommodation recognition is an important initiative to empower the tourism industry, especially the segment on Islamic tourism. It would give Malaysia an edge in attracting more tourists from the Middle East, which are the biggest spenders in Malaysia, as well as Muslims from elsewhere.”
The tourism minister views the Islamic tourism sector as “one of the high potential market segments” for Malaysia, which welcomed an estimated 5.2 million Muslim tourist arrivals in 2018.
Mohammadin noted: “Malaysia has been in pole position for nine consecutive years in the Global Muslim Traveller Index by MasterCard and Crescentrating, (both reports which study) the patterns and trends of Islamic tourism globally.
The index estimates that Muslim travellers will reach 160 million worldwide by 2020, and will increase to 230 million by 2026.
Think about the last time you booked a flight. Did you visit your preferred airline’s website or call a travel agent? Did you compare prices using a third party’s online platform and then shop around for the best deal?
If you’re like the majority of consumers, you booked your flight online only after you compared the costs of the same flight from different airlines. Indeed, recent research on flight pricing found 56 per cent of travellers cited price as the primary influence on flight booking decisions. What’s more, they conduct a lot of research before booking a flight – McKinsey estimated travellers go through up to 100 touchpoints before making a purchase.
Because travellers booking holidays online are willing to put in lots of research time to get a great price on a flight, it’s no wonder third-party booking platforms like Expedia, Kayak and Skyscanner have become a preference and have transformed the air travel industry.
It’s easy to see why they’ve been successful: these sites considered the customer journey and worked to provide a user-friendly, one-stop price comparison and shopping experience that reduces the number of touchpoints and makes finding the right deal much simpler for customers.
In addressing the customer’s pain points, these third-party websites have outpaced airlines in capturing today’s digital consumer. In fact, these disruptive competitors have done such a great job that many airlines have been unable to keep up with them technologically – including mobile platform offerings and personalisation – and now fail to meet customer expectations altogether.
The tech challenge
The digital challenges facing airlines are multifaceted, but can generally be traced back to a common issue: outdated technology.
While the majority of airlines’ desktop websites are serviceable, they are not nearly as streamlined and user-friendly as the sites from the third-party competitors. A lacklustre, clunky interface can immediately prompt customers to leave, opting for a more user-friendly site.
As for mobile options, many airlines do not presently have mobile-optimised websites, leading to slow page loading times, unappealing interfaces and hard-to-use features. These inefficiencies, coupled with the amount of touchpoints required during the customer journey, cause many travellers to lose patience and head to another site.
Getting an upgrade
Not all hope is lost – there are ways for airlines to implement newer technologies to meet customer expectations, but it does require them to retool their thinking and to make vast changes to their digital presence.
The first shift is to develop mobile-first strategies. In 2017, McKinsey found that 43 per cent of travel-related searches were made on smartphones, and it’s likely this percentage rose over the past year. This means airlines should invest in their mobile channels more heavily than their desktop options to meet customers on the channels they already use. Then, brands need to provide fast, efficient and simple customer interactions by creating mobile-optimised websites and applications.
Aside from booking a flight, the rest of the air travel experience occurs offline, but there are ways to enrich that offline experience with digital tools that provide real-time offers based on location and a 360-degree customer view courtesy of personalised customer data.
For example, when Singapore Airlines revamped its mobile app, the airline added features like loyalty programme user management, Android Pay and Apple Pay, connectivity with tablets and smart watches, and full integration with entertainment systems. Additionally, the app provided customers with travel suggestions and maps when they reached their travel destinations. These changes boosted the app’s ratings by 2.5 stars, and led to 4.6 million downloads and 17 number one rankings on app stores globally.
Let data be your pilot
By implementing digital tools such as automation and machine learning, airlines can easily store customer data such as seat, meal, and entertainment preferences and auto-populate these fields for the customer’s next booking, providing a more personalised user experience – something travellers have said they want.
A study by American Express found a staggering 83 per cent of millennials would allow travel brands to track their digital patterns in exchange for a more personalised experience. And they weren’t alone – 85 per cent of all respondents said customised itineraries based on their personal interests were more desirable than mass-market offers.
Airlines can also boost personalisation through customised prompts for offers and upgrades in the lead-up time to the customer’s flight. Then on the day of the flight, digital boarding passes, reminders of gate numbers, and special in-airport shopping or dining deals based on the customer’s individual data can be sent via push notifications or emails.
By shifting thinking towards the end-to-end customer journey, airlines can not only overcome digital challenges, but exceed customer experience expectations. Though the changes required are extensive, and even overwhelming, they are necessary steps that airlines must take in order to be competitive in the crowded digital travel space.