Definition of Islamic Tourism

World Islamic Tourism Forum (WITF), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 12-13 July 2011
VALUE OF ISLAMIC TOURISM OFFERING
Perspectives from the Turkish Experience
Teoman Duman, Ph.D.
International Burch University
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Aims
1. To propose definitions of Islamic tourism and halal
tourism
2. To propose a framework of perceived value for
Islamic tourism decision making process
3. To provide an overview of halal tourism market in
Turkey
For details of the presentation
 Please request a copy of my conference paper
through;
[email protected]
Introduction
 Yearly international tourist arrivals have reached to one billion threshold.
 Technology is making everything easier today.
 Travel is becoming a way of life for most people.
 One of the largest segments of travelers is Muslim travelers.
 Muslims have special needs due to their belief system.
 There is a lot of misunderstanding about Islam and Islamic values.
 Whatever the reasons for misunderstanding, it is our duty as muslims to
convey the true message of Islam and set good examples.
Introduction - continued
 Tourism is one of the realities of contemporary life.
 People travel for many reasons.
 Many see tourism as satisfaction of some basic needs.
 Others see it as an expression of unacceptable extremes.
 Maybe, there is truth in each of these perceptions.
 The main question for Muslims is; What is the status of tourism in Islam?
 Does it represent satisfaction of basic needs for us as Muslims too? Or,
 Does it represent extremes which are unacceptable in our value system?
Introduction - continued
 So far, the West has established tourism as a strong sector of the economy and as an
academic discipline.
 But, we, Muslims, seem to act too slow to define its role in Muslim societies.
 Some of the preliminary questions that come to my mind are,
 How does Islam and tourism interact? And, how should we define Islamic
tourism?
 Who is the Muslim tourist and what does s/he look for in his/her tourism
experience?
 What does value mean for Muslim tourists? What makes products valuable for
them?
 How do Muslim countries handle tourism as a sector?
Questions?
 Three specific questions I intend to tackle in my speech today
are,
 How should we define Islamic tourism and halal tourism?
 What does value mean for Muslim tourists? What makes
products valuable for them?
 As a special case, what are the historical, political and
sectoral dynamics of halal tourism industry in Turkey?
Definition of Tourism
 Before I attemp to define Islamic tourism, I will provide the
definition of tourism in general.
 According to WTO, “Tourism comprises the activities of
persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual
environment for not more than one consecutive year for
leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise
of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.”
(Medlik, 2003).
Definition of Tourism
 Tourism has three key characteristics. These are,
 the movement of people (make up the demand side)
 a sector of the economy or the industry (makes up supply
side)
 a broad system of interacting relationships of people, their
needs to travel outside their communities and services that
attempt to respond to these needs by supplying products
(Page and Connell, 2009, 65; Chadwick, 1994, 65).
Definition of Islamic Tourism
 There are still definitional ambiguities with regards to
Islamic tourism concept (Henderson, 2010).
 Henderson (2010) distinguishes between Islamic
tourism, non-Islamic tourism and un-Islamic (antiIslamic) tourism.
Previous Definitions of Islamic Tourism
 Some of the previous definitions of Islamic tourism include:
 All product development and marketing efforts designed for and directed at Muslims
(Henderson, 2010).
 Tourism mainly by Muslims (Henderson, 2009).
 Islamic tourism as an economic, cultural and religious (conservative) concept (Ala-
Hamarneh , 2011).
 All forms of tourism except those that go against Islamic values (Shakiry, 2006).
 The type of tourism that adheres to the values of Islam (Hassan, 2007).
 A new ethical dimension in tourism (Hassan, 2004).
 Islamic tourism covers tourism activities by Muslims in seaside destinations for the
purposes of relaxation and entertainment in hospitality enterprises that apply Islamic
principles (Dogan, 2010).
Definition of Islamic Tourism

Previous definitions give reference to,
 participants of the activity (i.e. Muslims)
 locations of the activity (i.e. Islamic destinations, countries)
 dimensions of the activity (i.e. economic, cultural, religious
dimensions)
 products offered to the markets (i.e. accommodation facilities, trips,
food and beverage)
 management of the service production process (i.e. marketing and
ethics)
Motivational perspective to Islamic tourism
 In an excellent review, Din (1989) talked about the
role of travel and tourism in Islam.
 In this classical article, Din argued that travel in Islam
is
a
purposeful
(goal-oriented)
activity
and
motivations are at the center of the activity (p. 552).
Motivational perspective to Islamic tourism
 Muslims travel to achieve physical, social and
spiritual goals by travelling.
 Also, in Islam, deeds are valued according to
intentions (Sahih-Al Bukhari, 2011).
Motivational perspective to Islamic tourism
 Accordingly, it can be argued that travel and tourism in
Islam are goal-oriented activities that originate from
Islamic motivations (e.g. acting in the cause of God (fisabilillah), submission to the ways of God, realization of
the smallness of man and the greatness of God and
encouraging and strengthening the bond of sillaturrahim
(muslim fraternity) (Din, 1989)).
Motivational perspective to Islamic tourism
 Islamic motivations deviate from generic motivations to
travel in most instances.
 Examples of Islamic and generic motivations are in Table 1.
Table 1. Examples of Generic and Islamic Tourist Motivations
Generic
Motivations
Islamic
Motivations
Motivations
Sources
 Conducting business, visiting friends or relatives, pursuing other
personal business activities (i.e. shopping) and pleasure
 Experiencing culture, pleasure-seeking, fantasy, relaxation, physical
participation
 Relaxing mentally, discovering new places and things, avoiding the
hustle and bustle of daily life, relaxing physically, being in a calm
atmosphere, increasing knowledge, having good time with friends,
being with others, building friendships with others, using imagination,
gaining a feeling of belonging, challenging personal abilities, using
self abilities and skills in sports, developing close relationships.
 Climate, relaxation, adventure, personal reasons (i.e. nostalgia),
educational motives
Goeldner and Ritchie
(2006)
Kozak (2002)
Ryan and Glendon
(1998)
Bansal and Eiselt
(2004)
 Acting in the cause of God (fi-sabilillah), submission to the ways of Din (1989)
God (through the Hajj and the Umrah), realization of the smallness of
man and the greatness of God, encouraging and strenthening the bond
of sillaturrahim (muslim fraternity), conducting business
Aglamaz (2009)
 Seeking health (relaxation), education (learning-teaching-information
sharing-visiting scientists), realization of other cultures, business
 Declaration of Islam (Tebliğ), seeking scientific knowledge, Kusursuz (2011)
educating others, work for halal earnings, taking lessons from past
A Proposed Definition of Islamic Tourism:
Motivational Perspective
From this perspective, I propose to define
Islamic tourism as:
 All tourism activities by Muslims that originate from
Islamic motivations and are realized according to
shariah principles.”
Tourism vs. Islamic Tourism
 If we apply this definition to the WTO definition, then,
 Islamic tourism can be defined as “the activities of
Muslims travelling to and staying in places outside their
usual environment for not more than one consecutive year
for participation of activities that originate from Islamic
motivations which are not related to the exercise of an
activity remunerated from within the place visited.”
Islamic Tourism as an Economic Activity
 Categorization of tourism related goods and services that are
designed, produced and presented to the markets according to
Islamic rules (shariah) can be considered under halal tourism.
 Such use of the terminology is already common in daily usage
 halal trips
 hotels
 airlines
 food etc. (Hassan, 2008; halaltrip.com; Wikipedia, 2011).
Islamic Tourism Decision Making Process and
Perceived Value
Based on previous discussion, I propose the
following perceived value model for Islamic
tourism decision making process
A Proposed Model of Perceived Value for Islamic Tourism Decision Making Process
motivations
islamic
motivations
for
travelling
decision
making
black box
service
consumption
postpurchase
evaluation
future
behavior
affective
aspects
decision
makingSheriah
compliance
value
monetary
aspects
generic
motivations
for travelling
behavioral
intentions
nonmonetary
aspects
decision
making
non-islamic
motivations
for
travelling
satisfaction
quality
aspects
Denotes Tourism Participation and Evaluation Process for Non-Muslim Tourists
Denotes Tourism Participation and Evaluation Process for Muslim Tourists
Halal Tourism in Turkey
Turkish tourism industry
Turkish tourism product
Halal tourism industry in Turkey
Historal perspective
Political perspective
Legal status
Major types of halal tourism
Seaside
Hot-spa (thermal)
Market description
Turkish Tourism Industry
 One of the top ten destinations in the World
28 million international tourists in 2010
 $21 billion tourism receipts
 $630 average tourist spending
 By 2023, 63 million tourists, $86 billion
earnings
Turkish Tourism Product
 Possible to find all kinds of tourism
 Around 600,000 touristic bed capacity
 2600 touristic accommodation facilities
 These numbers are up from 56,000 bed capacity and 500
facilities in 1980.
 Antalya, Istanbul and Mugla are the three major destinations
accommodating around 50% of international visitors to the
country (Duman and Kozak, 2010).
Recent History of Tourism Development in Turkey
 A Review of Recent Tourism Development
History in Turkey is given in Table 2.
 Number of Halal seaside hotels increased from 5
to 39 after AKP took over the government (2002).
 Halal hot-spa facilities doubled during the same
period.
Table 2. A Review of Recent Tourism Development History in Turkey
Political
environment
Before 1980s
 Political
turmoil
Scope of

tourism activity
1980-1992
1992-2002
 Turgut Özal –
 Political turmoil
ANAP
 Economic
 Political stability
downturn
Very limited 
tourism
activity



Establishment of
tourism
legislation
Planning and
infrastructure
Upsurge in
tourist numbers
Recognition in
European
markets







Building of
superstructure
Rising promotion
activities
Increasing supply
Popularity in
Russian markets
Increasing tourist
numbers
Popularity of allinclusive
vacations
Decreasing
tourism earnings
2002-2011
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan AKP
Political stability
Economic development
Rising of middle class





Increasing tourism
supply and demand
Tourism product
diversification
Increasing thermal
tourism supply
Holistic tourism
planning (Turkish
Tourism Strategy
2023)
Upsurge in
participation of
Muslims in tourism
activity
Types of Halal Tourism Facilities in Turkey
Primarily, there are two types of halal tourism
facilities in Turkey
Seaside facilities
Hot-spa (thermal) facilities
Popular terminology that connotes these
facilities is given in Table 3.
Table 3. Terminology used by hospitality enterprises to describe vacations
and tourism products to attract Muslim tourists in Turkey
Terminology in Turkish
Terminology in English
İslami tatil yerleri
Islamic vacation destinations
Islami oteller
Islamic hotels
Muhafazakar oteller – tatil köyleri - tatil
Conservative hotels – resorts - vacation
Alternatif tatil -oteller
Alternative hotels - vacations
Tesettürlü oteller
Veiled (covered) hotels
Dini oteller
Religious hotels
Islami termal oteller
Islamic hot-spa (thermal) hotels
Islami kaplicalar
Islamic hot-spas
Kaplıcalar
Hot-spas
Dindar tatil
Religious vacations
İçkisiz oteller
Alcohol-free hotels
Bay-bayan ayrı havuzlu oteller
Hotels with separate pools for man and women
Islami konseptli otel
Hotels with Islamic concept
Table 4. Selected Seaside Hospitality Enterprises in Turkey Targeting Muslim Populations
Note
: Categorization of hotels is based on web-site descriptions.
Sources : Doğan (2011); islamitatil (2011); tesetturluoteller (2011) and islamioteller (2011).
Table 5. Selected Hot-spa Hospitality Enterprises in Turkey Targeting Muslim
Populations
Note
: Categorization of hotels is based on web-site descriptions.
Sources : Islamitatil (2011); tesetturluoteller (2011) and islamioteller (2011).
Capacity of Halal Tourism Facilities in Turkey
Total hospitality enterprises in Turkey (100%)
600,000 beds in 2600 facilities
Hospitality enterprises using halal tourism
concept (5.6%)
33,781 beds in 64 facilities
Legal Status of Halal Tourism Industry in Turkey
 No direct reference to selling of alcoholic beverages
 Four-star holiday villages have to have an open or closed bar
 Five-star holiday villages have to have a discotheque or a night
club
 Halal hotels use these facilities for their own purposes
 They are criticisized to separate beaches illegally for men and
women.
Market Description
 Three major markets
 Turkish citizens living and working in European countries
(Around 2.4 million)
 Upscale customers with conservative Islamic lifestyles
(rising middle-class)
 Foreign Muslim tourists especially from Middle Eastern
countries
Consumer Behavior
 Internet based survey of halal tourism participants
 Generally positive views - majority of participants;
 find halal hotels Islamically acceptable (59%)
 think vacation is a need (66%)
 search for price, cleanliness and quality of service in choice
 find prices expensive
 keep religious sensitivity during vacation (70%) and
 spend most of the time swimming and suntanning.
Consumer Behavior
 Complaints are generally about
 high prices
 low service quality
 common usage of beaches with non-Muslim
tourists
 fake halal hotels
Conclusion
Future projects about Islamic tourism may
include,
 graduate research (master-doctoral thesis)
 consumer behavior studies
 edited book
 special issue in journals
 e-library
 certification and standardization practices for
industry
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
Teoman Duman, Ph.D.
[email protected]
International Burch University
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina