Indonesia and Malaysia must leverage complementary halal tourism offerings, says Indonesia Ministry of Tourism official

Photo: Temple in Bali, Indonesia (left) and Kuala Lumpur twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (right)

No large-scale joint halal tourism ventures have emerged between Malaysia and Indonesia two years after the inaugural Joint Seminar on Islamic Tourism (JoSIT) in Kuala Lumpur, says director of promotion for Southeast Asia at Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism Rizki Handayani.

The annual JoSIT focuses on enhancing the service and hospitality industries catering to Muslim visitors in both countries, as well as other places in Southeast Asia. Despite two seminars already — the second was in Bandung, a satellite city of Jakarta —businesses in both Indonesia and Malaysia are still in “a preparation phase”, said Handayani.

She told Salaam Gateway there is a need to further customize products and services to suit the budding halal tourism sector. Halal options for travelers in Malaysia and Indonesia, she said, are still lacking, despite a rising demand for exclusive facilities and services.         

ATTRACTING MIDDLE EASTERN MUSLIM TOURISTS

Malaysia received 5.6 million Muslim travelers in 2014, estimates the Islamic Tourism Centre of Malaysia, and the nation expects the number to grow an average 5 percent a year as the demand for Islamic tourism products grows.

There are no official figures for halal tourism in Indonesia but the country's Tourism Minister Arief Yahya told local press in October the archipelago attracted around 2 million Muslim foreign tourists in 2014. This was well behind Malaysia, and both countries reportedly fell behind Thailand, which drew 6 million.

To boost Muslim tourist numbers, Handayani believes Indonesia and Malaysia must do more to leverage their complementary halal tourism offerings.

“Indonesia has the potential attractions that are complementary to Malaysia,” said Handayani. “The ... attraction from Indonesia is the nature. Indonesia has many beautiful mountains, coastal areas, lakes, rural areas ... while Malaysia offers city tourism and shopping tourism. The combination of natural attractions with culture and city tourism could add (more) experiences for tourists from the Middle East who visit this region.”     

Handayani remains optimistic that JoSIT will encourage luxury resorts, travel agencies and excursion package providers in both nations to work together.

“Currently, there are several flights from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Bali, Lombok, Medan, and more served by Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines and also AirAsia,” she said. “From the Middle East, [destinations are] served by Emirates, Qatar Air, Etihad, Saudia Airlines. So, it is possible to create joint packages.”

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