ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
The purpose of this paper is to explore issues, challenges and suggestions on factors that can help the implementation of big scale Halal tourism in Malaysia. Qualitative method was used where data were collected through observations and interviews with relevant stakeholders in the industry, mainly from a pool of tourist guides, due to their specific experiences in the industry. Other data were collected from Muslim tourists from the Middle East thus the experience might be influenced by their religious and cultural views. Three major patterns are identified to be the main issues and challenges in implementing big scale Halal tourism in Malaysia. The patterns are itinerary/package, Halal foods, and morality/modesty. Some suggestions are proposed to solve some of the issues. The policy maker and the practitioner should develop holistic and significant implementation of big scale Halal tourism with emphasis on the itinerary/package, Halal food and morality. The findings of this study provide better understanding of issues and challenges faced not only by the Muslim tourists but also the Muslim tourist guides who are the frontline stakeholders facing the Muslim tourists and their complaints. Finally, this paper provides insightful implications to other stakeholders including the tourism operators and the policy makers.
Aidi-Zulkarnain, N., & Ooi, S. K. (2014). Tapping into the Lucrative Halal Market?: Malaysian SMEs Perspective. International Journal of Business and Innovation, 1(6), 12–22.
Aziz, Y. A., Rahman, A. A., Hassan, H., & Hamid, S. . (2016). Exploring the Islamic and halal tourism definition. Proceedings from HTC 2015: Innovation and Best Practices in Hospitality and Tourism Research. Melaka, Malaysia, Nov. 2-3, 2015, Ed. Jamal et Al. Taylor & Francis Group: London., 139–144.
Battour, Ismail, & Battor. (2011). The impact of destination attributes on Muslim tourist’s choice. International Journal of Tourism Research, 13(6), 527–540.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (Fourth Edi). England: Pearson New International Edition.
Din, K. H. (1989). Islam and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 16(4), 542–563.
Halkias, D., Pizzurno, E., De Massis, A., & Fragoudakis, M. (2014). Halal Products and Services in the Italian Tourism and Hospitality Industry: Brief Case Studies of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 19(2), 1–12.
Henderson, J. C. (2003). Managing tourism and Islam in Peninsular Malaysia. Tourism Management, 24(4), 447–456.
IndexMundi. (2018). Malaysia Demographic Profile 2018. Retrieved from https://www.indexmundi.com/malaysia/demographics_profile.html
Islam, T., & Chandrasekaran, U. (2013). Halal Marketing: Growing The Pie. International Journal of Management Research and Review, 3(12), 3938–3948.
ITC. (2015). Islamic Tourism Centre. Retrieved June 27, 2015, from http://itc.gov.my/industry/introduction/
Jafari, J., & Scott, N. (2014). Muslim world and its tourisms. Annals of Tourism Research, 44(1), 1–19.
JAKIM. (2015). Manual Procedure for Malaysia Halal Certification (Third Revision) 2014. Seri Kembangan: Firdaus Press.
Kasak, A. (2014). Muslim Travel Index Europe 2014. McCann Reach. Birmingham.
Laldin, D. M. (2008). Introduction to Sharia & Islamic Jurisprudence (2nd Editio). Kuala Lumpur: CERT Publication Sdn Bhd.
Mosbah, A., & Al Khuja. (2014). A review of tourism development in malaysia. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(5), 1–9.
Pemandu. (2010). Economic Transformation Programme: A Roadmap for Malaysia.
Rahman, I. N. A., Saleh, R., Rahman, S. A., & Hashim, D. (2012). A Review on factors of non-compliance of halal standards among restaurant operators in Kuala Lumpur. International Business Management, 6(6), 611–620.
Salman, A., & Hasim, M. S. (2012). Factors and competitiveness of Malaysia as a tourist destination: A study of outbound Middle East tourists. Asian Social Science, 8(12), 48–54.
Shafaei, F., & Mohamed, B. (2015). Malaysia’s Branding as an Islamic Tourism Hub: An Assessment. Malaysia Journal of Society and Space, 11(1), 97–106.
State. (2014). International Religious Freedom Report 2014, US Department of State.
Stephenson, M. L. (2014). Deciphering “Islamic hospitality”: Developments, challenges and opportunities. Tourism Management, 40, 155–164.
Thomson Reuters. (2013). State of the Global Islamic Economy 2013 Report.
Thomson Reuters. (2014). State of the Global Islamic Economy 2014-2015 Report.
Thomson Reuters. (2016). State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2016/17.
Tourism Malaysia. (2015). Press Release: Malaysia Ranks First in The Mastercard- CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2015.
Tourism Malaysia. (2017). Malaysia Tourism Statistics in Brief. Retrieved from https://www.tourism.gov.my/statistics
WTM. (2007). WTM Global Trends Report.
WTTC. (2016). Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2016: Caribbean. Retrieved from www.wttc.org
In-Text Citation: (Hamid, Aziz, Rahman, & Ali, 2018)
To Cite this Article: Hamid, S. H. A., Aziz, Y. A., Rahman, A. A., & Ali, M. H. (2018). Implementing Big Scale Halal Tourism in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(16), 303–318.
Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode