When Istanbul-based photographer Bradley Secker heard about a press-trip to a number of ‘halal-friendly’ hotels, opened in recent years along Turkey’s sunny southern coastline, he was intrigued – both by the idea of halal tourism as a business and by the practicalities of operating such spaces. ‘I thought it would be interesting to show how these resorts have developed,’ he says. ‘A lot of them were changed from resorts centred on Russian or European tourists. They made this quick transition because of the lucrative business potential on the halal side.’ It’s a process that has involved a number of architectural changes, most strikingly the sail-like divisions erected between male-only and female-only bathing areas. Halal-friendly hotels also cater to other tenets of Islamic belief. Those that Secker visited do not allow alcohol on site, serve only halal meals and other prayer and mosque facilities.
In photographing these hotels, Secker tapped into a much wider tourism trend, one that goes by many names – halal tourism, Muslim-friendly tourism, to name a few. It is a sector that has grown hugely over the last decade (Covid-19 presenting an obvious blip), moving from niche to mainstream. All-inclusive resorts such as those photographed by Secker are one side of it – appealing largely to families looking for an easy beach holiday with all religious requirements taken care of. But there are many other ways that destinations seek to capitalise on the Muslim pound and it’s not hard to understand why.
According to the Global Muslim Travel Index 2021 (GMTI), produced by Mastercard and the research organisation Crescent Rating, international Muslim traveller arrivals grew from an estimated 108 million in 2013 to 160 million in 2019. With Islam the world’s fastest growing and most youthful religion, this trajectory is expected to continue. Within countries that are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – an international grouping founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states, with a collective population of more than 1.8 billion – the Muslim middle class is growing. Meanwhile, in Western Europe and North America, second and third generation Muslims are entering the workforce in greater numbers with a resultant boost in disposable income. Many countries – whether Islamic or not – are looking to attract these travellers.
THE GROWTH OF A MARKET
Faiza Khan is a marketing lecturer at University College Birmingham who, in 2016, wrote a paper with a colleague titled ‘The Halalification of Tourism’, particularly concerned with addressing the wide range of terminology used in this space. She explains why this market exists at all, and why it has been growing. ‘If you go back 40 or 50 years, the main focus of many Muslims for travelling would be to go to Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage, or it was to go back to their home countries to see their family and friends. For financial reasons, other travelling would have been a waste of time and resources. But then you get this new, younger generation who may not necessarily want to keep going back to their home countries all the time. They’re more exposed to the world, and they want to see more. But they want to do it without compromising on some of their religious values.’
Natasha Ahmed, editor of British Muslim Magazine, a lifestyle publication focusing on travel, food and shopping, agrees. ‘Even when I was young, my holiday was going to my cousins in Pakistan. And that was the be-all and end-all. But now I’ve been to Pakistan four or five times since then, and I’ve explored it for the country, rather than just going to see family and friends. I think a lot of Muslim audiences are now more educated; they have deeper pockets. And they’re looking for other things to do. This market doesn’t drink alcohol, so they’re saving a lot of money and they have started putting their money towards travelling, meeting people, being more educated, more cultural.’
Khan also notes that the September 11th terrorist attacks were a turning point for the industry, one that inadvertently led to new destinations becoming popular with Muslims. ‘In some of the richer countries, like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, people would historically have gone to Europe and America, but post September 11th America was very much a no-go zone. There was also a desire after September 11th to reconnect with heritage and culture. You have countries like Malaysia which tapped into this market very early.’
The GMTI produces a yearly ranking of holiday destinations, distinguishing countries based on a range of criteria, including ease of access and the environment (which includes Muslim travellers’ need to feel safe and face few restrictions in practising their faith). In 2021, Malaysia was the top-ranked destination, as it has been ever since the launch of the index in 2015. It was followed by Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Among non-OIC countries, Singapore maintained the top spot, with the UK second. Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Africa and Japan were also in the top 10. The report notes that ‘these destinations have continued to do some level of passive marketing to the Muslim market even during the pandemic’.
Refer to the full report at: https://geographical.co.uk/people/cultures/item/4232-the-rise-of-halal-tourism
