INTERVIEW- Holiday Bosnia, the destination management company with a social conscience

(Photo of Kamran Siddiqui courtesy of Holiday Bosnia)

There is a growing trend of voluntourism and socially responsible tourism among young urban Muslims that is yet to take off but which promises to offer the next growth trajectory for Islamic/Muslim-focused travel and tourism.

One Muslim travel company that has been involved in voluntourism and socially responsible tourism is Dubai- and UK-based Holiday Bosnia, which is fast making a solid industry presence.

Salaam Gateway catches up with Holiday Bosnia founder and owner Kamran Siddiqui who explains how the company aligns its business needs as a destination management company with its conscience as a social enterprise.

Salaam Gateway: What is a “Destination Management Company” and how is Holiday Bosnia such a company?

Kamran Siddiqui: A Destination Management Company is one that uses its extensive local knowledge and expertise to design and implement tours and visitor-related activities in a country.

Holiday Bosnia has been planning Islamic Tourism programmes in Bosnia Herzegovina for the past 10 years, designing and managing all services and operations on the ground in Bosnia Herzegovina. Our local knowledge and expertise is second to none.  I have been personally involved in the country for over 18 years and have hand-picked a team of highly educated and professional Bosnians to provide our customers with premier quality tours and services. We can draw upon a wide network of trusted partners including academics, professionals, community leaders, non-governmental organisations, Islamic institutions and local experts.

Salaam Gateway: What is Holiday Bosnia’s business model?

Kamran Siddiqui: Our business model is that of a `Community Interest Company` whereby we create a positive impact on society and the environment.  I believe this model is ideally suited to the ideals of Islam, which promotes the helping of others and building good relationships between communities and improving society in general.

So our business model combines business approaches with social development. We run a high quality, professional tourism business and also encourage our customers to get involved in social or philanthropic projects. Furthermore we invest a percentage of our profits back into the community. An important part of our `value added´ activity is directed towards community development.  

Salaam Gateway: You say you’re a ‘social enterprise’. Could you elaborate?

Kamran Siddiqui: A social enterprise is one that applies business solutions to addressing social issues. In this case we are a business in the Muslim Tourism Sector aiming to create a positive impact for:

-          The Muslim traveller – by giving them a travel experience that enables them to  connect with their Islamic values though physical, social and spiritual means

-           The local communities in  Bosnia, a country still recovering from conflict and facing many social problems

 As a social enterprise our primary purpose is to address a social issue – not just to maximise profit. Therefore we:

-          offer high quality programmes and services aimed at giving a unique Islamic tourism experience for our customers

-          in addition, we encourage our guests to support local social programmes

-          we invest a percentage of our profits into the local community

(Photo: Konjic, Bosnia. Photo courtesy of Holiday Bosnia)

Salaam Gateway: You also say you provide tourism services guided by an ‘ethical policy’ and that you have an ‘ethical tourism’ approach. What’s your ethical policy and what is ethical tourism for Holiday Bosnia?

Kamran Siddiqui: Islam is a way of life based on fairness and high ethical standards. So anything Islamic is by definition supposed to be ethical; Islamic Finance is ethical finance, Halal food production is ethical. And so Islamic tourism must be ethical in all of its facets.

We are offering an Islamic approach to tourism – which is actually ethical tourism. By this I mean that all aspects of our work and approach is guided by Islamic principles. For example we:

-          Cannot overcharge our customers

-          Cannot mislead our customers

-          Do not get involved in any immoral activities

-          Must offer high quality services

-          Treat our customers as friends, with the best traditions of Muslim hospitality

-          Try to resolve any problems as fairly as possible

Salaam Gateway: How has the company developed and changed since it started operations?

Kamran Siddiqui: Initially our HQ was based in Dubai with our operations team in Bosnia. Now we are expanding our strategic marketing activities with our office in London being established.

In the first few years our priority was on establishing a strong client base and getting customers. Now however as we have developed, we are working on getting repeat customers. Our aim is for Muslim travellers to keep coming to Bosnia and develop relationships with the local communities and get involved in activities and projects in Bosnia.

We have also expanded our range of services that we offer in Bosnia, including a portfolio of social programmes for our customers to get involved with.

Salaam Gateway: What has been your biggest challenge and how have you overcome that?

Kamran Siddiqui: Our biggest challenge has been in managing the gap in cultural expectations of visitors from countries with a well-developed tourism industry such as GCC and Malaysia or Indonesia and the local Bosnian service providers that are still facing a steep learning curve in meeting high quality standards across the board. With extensive training and mentoring of our local partners we have managed to close the gaps in provision and customer service in order to deliver high quality and fully meet our customer expectations.

Salaam Gateway: What are the gaps in the Islamic/Muslim-focused travel and tourism sector and how can they be filled?

Kamran Siddiqui: In my view, the Islamic/ Muslim travel and tourism sector is focusing on attracting Muslim visitors without making much effort on the social aspect of Islamic travel. Most Islamic tourism is still based around the hotel or resort environment and less on the society that they visit.  Muslim travellers generally like to meet other communities and have a cultural exchange with them.

If Muslim-oriented travel programmes can include some element of community interaction I think this would make it more Islamic or Muslim – focused. This is what we are advocating for with Holiday Bosnia.  

ABOUT HOLIDAY BOSNIA

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