Halal tourism: Definitional, conceptual and practical ambiguities

Abstract

Halal tourism becomes the most dynamic and fast-growing niche in the tourism industry. However, the lack of consensus on the definition, concepts and implementations of halal tourism has pollarded its development. Academics in scientific researches, destination marketers and practitioners in the industry widely employ the phrases “halal tourism” and “Islamic tourism” interchangeably to denote tourism products and services addressing halal conscious travelers’ needs. These ambiguities pose challenges and practical problems in the academic literature and in the industry. The main purpose of this study is, therefore, to appraise the conceptual and practical usage of the phrases halal tourism and Islamic tourism in academia and in industry, and recommend the appropriate position of these terminologies. This paper also seeks to propose cogent definitions of halal tourism and Islamic tourism. The study begins by analyzing the distinctions between halal tourism and Islamic tourism. In the course of the study, firstly, the definitions and concepts of tourism, Islamic tourism, and halal tourism were well examined. The difference between Islamic tourism and halal tourism is emphasized at second. The existing literature was consulted. On top of that, the opinions of tourism experts were gathered through Delphi Technique. The data were extracted from a theoretical review and experts’ view within the realm of qualitative research methods. A critical literature review was conducted based on the journal article found in Elsevier, Web of Science and Scopus databases. Moreover, to probe propose definitions for halal tourism and Islamic tourism, tourism experts were also consulted. The finding of this study reveals that there are ambiguities and misunderstandings over these two terminologies among both the academics and practitioners. Despite the fact that they have commonalities especially in using halal products and services, Islamic tourism and halal tourism have unequivocal differences. Their difference lies in the objective and intention of the visitations. Besides the conceptual complications, challenges practically facing the industry are also assessed in the study