India, home to 172 mln Muslims takes huge strides in halal tourism
Photo: Indian Muslims gather to pray at the last Friday afternoon prayer before the end of Ramadan at the Jama Masjid in Delhi on September 18, 2009. Getty Images/Daniel Berehulak
It’s not the first country that comes to mind for halal tourism but the home of 172 million Muslims already has a mature halal food, prayer and Islamic lifestyle availability, making India ripe for Muslim-friendly holidays. While the facilities have existed long before the term ‘halal tourism’ became an industry mainstay, there was little awareness about the potential of the segment for India.
“When I started halaldays.com in 2011, the concept was so unfamiliar that people thought the company name was holidays.com. I would have to constantly correct them,” Nahiyan Najeeb, CEO of travel agency Halal-days.com, told Salaam Gateway.
“Now, people get it, as awareness has grown in the last five years. When we began, I used to get 10 families a month. Now we sell more than a hundred packages a month,” added the Kerala-based agent.
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Raynah Coutinho, White Paper Media