3RD WORLD ISLAMIC TOURISM CONFERENCE (WITC) SHARPENS FOCUS ON MUSLIM TOURIST MARKET AS A GROWTH ENABLER

PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA, 5 OCTOBER 2022: The 3rd World Islamic Tourism Conference will take place from 17 to 19 October to highlight the socio-economic growth benefits of tapping into the Muslim tourist market.

Organised by Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC), the sole government agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture tasked to lead the development of Islamic Tourism in Malaysia, the conference returns to World Trade Centre this year with approximately 300 delegates daily and an international and local lineup of 40 speakers and moderators.

Commenting on the Muslim tourist market potential, ITC Director-General, Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip Hasan says: “One of the things that ITC has been observing and tracking is the growth of the Muslim tourist market. Malaysia has been seeing its healthy rise up until 2019 before the pandemic broke. It contributed approximately a 20 percent share to Malaysia’s tourist arrivals and tourist receipts. It’s a dynamic market.”

“With people travelling again now, so are the Muslim tourists. It’s a key market to look into and one of the reasons is because they are geographically well distributed in Southeast Asia and Europe, not just the Middle East. You can say it is a global tourist market, protected from location-specific disruptions,” he explains.

The conference’s theme this year, “Islamic Tourism: Inspiring Balance, Transformations and Solutions,” was chosen to re-energise and motivate tourism industry players towards strategic action and tourism recovery by viewing the Muslim tourist market potential as a socio-economic driver.

Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip says: “We chose this theme because we want to influence a new way of thinking. The thinking must change and followed up with synergistic and collaborative action. We don’t want anyone to be left behind or miss this opportunity.”

Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip adds: “As we move into the tourism recovery phase now, it’s critical for destinations and tourism industry players to gain their footing in the market and make a big push forward. But the tourism scenario now is different than before the pandemic. We are faced with new tourism preferences, advancements in technology, a changing workforce and working trends, climate issues, geopolitical challenges, and more. Industry players need the knowledge and a different way of thinking to thrive in this post-pandemic environment. The WITC conference will bring together some of the best minds from various industry backgrounds to weigh in on the matter.”

“There are vast benefits in tourism, specifically when we deliver to the burgeoning Muslim tourist market. New businesses can evolve, products and services can expand, new jobs can be created, more people can benefit,” he adds.

“More importantly, Islamic Tourism strives to bring new perspectives which promote a healthy Human Development Index (HDI) consisting of excellent healthcare, education and decent standard of living, and a focus on ESG (Environment, Social and Governance), through best practices within the supply chains in the tourism, travel and hospitality segment.” 

“To add value to the WITC brand, this year, we’re introducing an exhibition element to the conference. About 50 to 80 tourism businesses, products and services will be showcased. It’s an opportunity to connect and collaborate with tourism industry players,” he says.

To learn more about the potential of the Muslim tourist market, register as a delegate at the 3rd World Islamic Tourism Conference 2022 at www.wmymuslimtrip.com/v2.

Highlights of WITC:

About WITC:

WITC started in 2017 as a comprehensive knowledge sharing, experience exchange and networking space for tourism industry agencies and associations, product and service providers, businesses, investors, entrepreneurs and others who are part of the Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality ecosystem. 

More than 40 speakers from Malaysia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Holland, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkiye, Uzbekistan and the United States of America are invited to share their thoughts and expertise with the audience at the 3rd WITC.

Registration for WITC is still open. Kindly visit www.wmymuslimtrip.com/v2 for more information and to register as a delegate, exhibitor or sponsor.

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Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) is an entity under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia tasked to develop the Islamic tourism segment for Malaysia. It advocates for Muslim-friendly tourism (MFT) by offering research and market intelligence, training, industry development consultation, Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality (MFTH) service standards and certification, and information exchange.

In 2021, ITC received two key awards, i.e. Strategic Business Alliance Award at The BrandLaureate World Halal Best Brand E-Branding Awards 2021, and Best Islamic Tourism Leadership Gold Award 2021 by Malaysia Tourism Council. These are recognition of ITC’s efforts and endeavours in formulating new strategies to meet the new normal of the business environment to ensure business continuity and sustainability, notwithstanding its role to develop and grow the Islamic tourism segment in Malaysia.

In 2022, Malaysia was again named top country in the world in the MFT sector by the State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) Report 2022 by DinarStandard in partnership with Salaam Standard and supported by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.

Malaysia also retained the top-ranked destination in the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2022, a position it has defended since the launch of the Index in 2015.

These recognitions are an added motivation for ITC to continue to strengthen its efforts in being a prime mover and leading institution to ensure Malaysia is at the forefront of MFTH.

For further details, kindly contact:

Islamic Tourism Centre
(Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia)
Level 13, No. 2 Tower 1, Jalan P5/6,
Precinct 5, 62200 Putrajaya, Malaysia
Tel: 03-8891 7177 or via email itc@mymuslimtrip.com/v2

For media-related matters, contact the Corporate Communications team:

Anis, Manager, +6012 321 9137, anis@mymuslimtrip.com/v2
Nadhirah, Sr. Executive, +6019 356 0530, nadhirah@mymuslimtrip.com/v2
Ainaa Izzati, Asst. Executive, +6010 266 2535, ainaa@mymuslimtrip.com/v2

Follow ITC on these social platforms:
Facebook: Islamic Tourism Centre
Twitter: @itc_my
Instagram: @itc_my
Youtube: Islamic Tourism Centre