ISLAMIC TOURISM CENTRE SHOWS CONTINUED COMMITMENT TOWARDS BETTERMENT OF MUSLIM AND HALAL TRAVEL MARKETS

Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) will be participating in the inaugural Halal in Travel Global Summit (HITGS) 2021, due to take place next week, from 13-15 July, on an online platform.

PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA, 10 JULY 2021: Given its expertise and experience in Islamic Tourism development, Malaysia has been invited to participate in the much anticipated Halal in Travel Global Summit (HITGS) 2021 on 13-15 July 2021.

Placing “Addressing the critical challenges in preparation for the post-COVID-19 Muslim travel market” as its main agenda, HITGS 2021 will be the inaugural edition of the event, and is set to take place on an online platform.

Malaysia’s participation is a solid one led by YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, the Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia, who will be one of the keynote speakers of the event on 14 July. The Honourable Minister will address the audience about “Strengthening Malaysia’s Position in the Muslim Travel Market”.

Director-General of Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC), Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip Haji Hasan will also be speaking at the conference on the topic “Readying OIC Destinations for Halal Travel”. Joining him are fellow speakers from across different countries – Mr. Said Kamil Holhojayev, Head of Halal Tourism Department at the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of Uzbekistan; and Dr. Hussain Sunny Umar, Managing Director of Maldives Halal Travel and Halal Weekly. Mr. Fazal Bahardeen, Founder of Singapore-based CrescentRating and HalalTrip (these entities being the organisers of HITGS as well) will be the moderator for this session.

ITC has also been given the opportunity to jointly-organise a session in Bahasa Melayu, entitled “Peranan dan Hala Tuju Penggiat Industri Terhadap Pembangunan Pelancongan Mesra-Muslim” (“The Role and Direction of Industry Players Towards the Development of Muslim-friendly Tourism”) on 13 July for local audiences and those who are from Malay language-centric countries such as Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa and Vietnam. 

The panel of speakers for this session are Mr. Uzaidi Udanis, President of Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association (MITA); Mr. Ahmad Faizal Iskandar, Director of Sales at Sunway Hotels Kuala Lumpur; and Mr. Suhaimi Abdul Ghafer, Founder of IslamiCruise. It will be moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamad Hafiz Hanafiah, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management at Universiti Teknologi MARA and member of ITC’s Board of Trustees.

Dato’ Dr. Mohmed Razip said: “Islamic Tourism Centre is pleased to participate in the inaugural summit and share insights gained from our experience of developing Muslim-Friendly Malaysia with a global audience. The Islamic Tourism and Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality concept is something that we have dedicated ourselves to ever since ITC was established in 2009, when it was still a new idea. Over the years, and through capacity building, training, industry development, and standards and certification, we have supported and championed the growth of this industry. We are happy to see the growing global interest in this area and to be given this platform to share our experience.”

“This upcoming event is something valuable for not just the Halal market but also the Muslim-friendly travel market. It is known that the Islamic tourism (IT) and Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality (MFTH) segments are niche but lucrative ones. Tourism industry players are growing more interested and aware of the highly-sought potentials those segments hold,” he added.

“The behaviour of Muslim tourists, particularly those from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, are well-summarised into two key characteristics – a great inclination to spend more, and have a longer stay. It is mainly because of those attributes that tourism stakeholders recognise the fact this market is the next big thing – which should be tapped into.”

He further stated: “I view this conference as not just a platform to speak and exchange views and opinions but also, in line with the main objective, find solution to address the key challenges in preparing the Muslim-friendly travel ecosystem for the post-COVID scenario, and beyond that, to ensure sustainability is achieved.” 

The conference will witness the likes of experts from National Tourism Organisations (NTOs), industry stakeholders and online industry players come together in a platform to share and exchange views on preparation concerning the Muslim travel market post-pandemic.

This first ever HITGS is the culmination of prior Halal in Travel conferences held worldwide in partnership with travel events such as ITB Asia, ITB Berlin, Malaysia International Halal Showcase and Uzakrota Summit, which ITC had participated in the past.

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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 (IT) 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) services standards and certification, and information exchange.

In 2021, ITC was named the recipient of the Strategic Business Alliance Award at The BrandLaureate World Halal Best Brand E-Branding Awards 2021. It is a 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 IT segment in Malaysia.

In addition, Malaysia was named top country in the region in the MFT sector by the State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) Report 2020/21. 

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

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