Asia Travel Trends in Focus: Halal Tourism

In December 2017, Check-in Asia published 10 Key Trends in Asian Travel & Tourism, analysing the sectors and segments likely to dominate in 2018. Ranked at # 6 was “Make Room for the MMTs”, referencing the aspirational generation of Muslim Millennial Travellers, which accounted for 36% of the 121 million Muslim travellers in 2016, and is predicted to spend USD100 billion annually on travel by 2025.

Ahead of this week’s ITB Asia show in Singapore, which features the annual Halal in Travel Summit, Check-in Asia caught up with Fazal Berhardeen, Founder and CEO of Singapore-based CrescentRating, a leading global authority on halal travel.

“Muslim Millennial Travellers accounted for 36% of the 121 million Muslim travellers in 2016.”

Crescent provides training, auditing and accreditation for hotels regarding their Halal and Muslims friendly services, and publishes the annual Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index. It also hosts the Halal in Travel Summit, which has been a mainstay of ITB Asia in Singapore since 2016, and has held spin-off summits in Berlin, Istanbul, Tokyo and KL.

In recognition of the rising influence of Halal travel – which is projected to be worth USD220 billion by 2020 – this week’s ITB Asia will feature a dedicated Muslim Travel Pavilion. Its daily seminars and discussions range from Catering to Muslim Travellers at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics to The Next Shift in the Muslim Travel Market, plus contributions by Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism, Cape Town Tourism, Tourism Western Australia, Shaza Hotels and Klook.

As the travel industry gears up to enhance its understanding of shifts in Muslim tourism, we wonder how the hotel industry is responding?

“Generally, the hotel industry has not reacted fast enough in the last few years to developments in Muslim travel.”

“Generally, the hotel industry has not reacted fast enough in the last few years to developments in Muslim travel, but that does seem to be changing in the past 6-12 months, or so. Hotels in general, are starting to look more seriously ar their engagement with Muslim travellers,” says Fazal Berhardeen.

He notes two key drivers. Firstly, boutique and small hotels have spotted an opportunity to focus on the Halal travel market. Secondly, driven by market demand, the major hotels are now looking at how they can better service the large and diverifying Muslim market.

Destinations are, however, taking a more strategic approach. In Asia, Fazal Berhardeencites Korea, Japan, Taiwan as being “the most aggressive destinations in promoting themseles as Muslim-friendly.” alongside more experienced Halal-aware desinations,

“Korea, Japan and Taiwan have become very reliant on China as their primary tourism source market, so they are all trying to diversify their visitor base.”

“Korea, Japan and Taiwan have become very reliant on China as their primary tourism source market, so they are all trying to diversify their visitor base, and an obvious target is Indonesia and Malaysia, which offer large growth potential and are majority-Muslim markets. Japan is also hosting the Olympics in 2020, and wants to use the Games as a tourism showcase for international travellers.”

In South East Asia, Singapore and Malaysia – which both count populations of muslim travellers – are relatively expereinced halal-aware destinations, although both will need to adapt to developments over the coming years, particularly as muslim millennial travellers grow increasingly influential.

“Indonesia is taking stragetic steps to attract 3.8 million inbound Muslim travellers in 2018, rising to 5 million in 2019.”

Indonesia, too, is taking stragetic steps to raise its appeal. As the world’s largest Muslim population nation, it aims to attract 3.8 million inbound Muslim travellers in 2018, rising to 5 million in 2019. The nation’s capital Jakarta is also increasing its range of halal travel products and services in partnership with tourism authorities and local universities with the aim of being a leading regional halal destination by 2020.

Emerging destinations are also raising their game. “I was in Uzbekistan last month talking to the Tourism Ministry, and they are providing new guidelines to hotels to push them to step up their engagement with Muslim travellers,” says Fazal Berhardeen

Other countries are still lagging behind, however, and there is “still a lot of education and awareness raising to be done,” says Fazal Berhardeen.

“Often, players in the travel industry don’t fully appreciate the potential of Muslim travel in their own country, and, even if they do, they tend to be concerned about perceptions of religious-based tourism, he adds, “So, a lot of our work is about steering them towards the community side of travel. There are a lot of opportunities in this aspect, because Muslim travellers are very community minded, and like to engage with the communities that they visit.”

The post Asia Travel Trends in Focus: Halal Tourism appeared first on Check in Asia.

Asia Travel Trends in Focus: Halal Tourism

In December 2017, Check-in Asia published 10 Key Trends in Asian Travel & Tourism, analysing the sectors and segments likely to dominate in 2018. Ranked at # 6 was “Make Room for the MMTs”, referencing the aspirational generation of Muslim Millennial Travellers, which accounted for 36% of the 121 million Muslim travellers in 2016, and is predicted to spend USD100 billion annually on travel by 2025.

Ahead of this week’s ITB Asia show in Singapore, which features the annual Halal in Travel Summit, Check-in Asia caught up with Fazal Berhardeen, Founder and CEO of Singapore-based CrescentRating, a leading global authority on halal travel.

“Muslim Millennial Travellers accounted for 36% of the 121 million Muslim travellers in 2016.”

Crescent provides training, auditing and accreditation for hotels regarding their Halal and Muslims friendly services, and publishes the annual Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index. It also hosts the Halal in Travel Summit, which has been a mainstay of ITB Asia in Singapore since 2016, and has held spin-off summits in Berlin, Istanbul, Tokyo and KL.

In recognition of the rising influence of Halal travel – which is projected to be worth USD220 billion by 2020 – this week’s ITB Asia will feature a dedicated Muslim Travel Pavilion. Its daily seminars and discussions range from Catering to Muslim Travellers at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics to The Next Shift in the Muslim Travel Market, plus contributions by Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism, Cape Town Tourism, Tourism Western Australia, Shaza Hotels and Klook.

As the travel industry gears up to enhance its understanding of shifts in Muslim tourism, we wonder how the hotel industry is responding?

“Generally, the hotel industry has not reacted fast enough in the last few years to developments in Muslim travel.”

“Generally, the hotel industry has not reacted fast enough in the last few years to developments in Muslim travel, but that does seem to be changing in the past 6-12 months, or so. Hotels in general, are starting to look more seriously ar their engagement with Muslim travellers,” says Fazal Berhardeen.

He notes two key drivers. Firstly, boutique and small hotels have spotted an opportunity to focus on the Halal travel market. Secondly, driven by market demand, the major hotels are now looking at how they can better service the large and diverifying Muslim market.

Destinations are, however, taking a more strategic approach. In Asia, Fazal Berhardeencites Korea, Japan, Taiwan as being “the most aggressive destinations in promoting themseles as Muslim-friendly.” alongside more experienced Halal-aware desinations,

“Korea, Japan and Taiwan have become very reliant on China as their primary tourism source market, so they are all trying to diversify their visitor base.”

“Korea, Japan and Taiwan have become very reliant on China as their primary tourism source market, so they are all trying to diversify their visitor base, and an obvious target is Indonesia and Malaysia, which offer large growth potential and are majority-Muslim markets. Japan is also hosting the Olympics in 2020, and wants to use the Games as a tourism showcase for international travellers.”

In South East Asia, Singapore and Malaysia – which both count populations of muslim travellers – are relatively expereinced halal-aware destinations, although both will need to adapt to developments over the coming years, particularly as muslim millennial travellers grow increasingly influential.

“Indonesia is taking stragetic steps to attract 3.8 million inbound Muslim travellers in 2018, rising to 5 million in 2019.”

Indonesia, too, is taking stragetic steps to raise its appeal. As the world’s largest Muslim population nation, it aims to attract 3.8 million inbound Muslim travellers in 2018, rising to 5 million in 2019. The nation’s capital Jakarta is also increasing its range of halal travel products and services in partnership with tourism authorities and local universities with the aim of being a leading regional halal destination by 2020.

Emerging destinations are also raising their game. “I was in Uzbekistan last month talking to the Tourism Ministry, and they are providing new guidelines to hotels to push them to step up their engagement with Muslim travellers,” says Fazal Berhardeen

Other countries are still lagging behind, however, and there is “still a lot of education and awareness raising to be done,” says Fazal Berhardeen.

“Often, players in the travel industry don’t fully appreciate the potential of Muslim travel in their own country, and, even if they do, they tend to be concerned about perceptions of religious-based tourism, he adds, “So, a lot of our work is about steering them towards the community side of travel. There are a lot of opportunities in this aspect, because Muslim travellers are very community minded, and like to engage with the communities that they visit.”

The post Asia Travel Trends in Focus: Halal Tourism appeared first on Check in Asia.

5 Asia Travel Trends That Are Shaking Global Tourism

Asia travel trends are driving change across the world. Newly affluent Asian consumers are travelling more frequently at home, around the region and globally, and investors are following in their footsteps. From January to April 2018, international arrivals in Asia Pacific increased by 8% year on year, according to the UNWTO, with South East Asia recording 10% growth and South Asia up 9%.

As developing trends from Beijing to Mumbai and Penang to Phnom Penh resonate far and wide, Gary Bowerman, Director of Check-in Asia, provides an update on the shifting dynamics in Asian travel and tourism.

It’s All About China: China is the tourism industry’s golden child, and its free-spending globetrotters are courted by every destination on earth. In 2018, Chinese outbound border crossings could top 150 million, and the year got off to a strong start. During the Spring Festival holiday in February, 6.5 million Chinese travellers jetted off to 730 cities in 68 destinations, noted the China Tourism Academy. In the first four months of 2018, 4.2 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, while Vietnam recorded 1.8 million Chinese arrivals. China is now the leading tourism source market for more than 10 countries, and that figure is set to sky rocket. Expect more destinations to break their annual Chinese arrivals records when the 2018 statistics are released in January 2019.

Indian Tourism Expands: Asia’s second pillar economy is starting to make its tourism presence felt. Around 22 million Indians travelled overseas in 2017, a figure predicted to reach 50 million by 2020, says the UNWTO. Indian air traffic growth is outpacing every other country, according to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation – rising six fold, to 265 million passengers in 2016, compared with 44 million in 2008. In 2018, Indian domestic air travellers are expected to exceed 300 million. New flight routes, particularly to destinations in South East Asia and Australia – which hit a benchmark of 300,000 Indian arrivals (originally set for 2020) in 2017, and is targeting AUD1.9 billion in visitor spend by 2020 – make India a white-hot emerging tourism market to watch.

A Boom in Domestic Travel: Domestic tourism is booming across Asia, especially in India and China – whose vast populations are taking off to explore their continental sized landscapes. In South East Asia, short breaks and weekend trips are enhanced by proliferating low-cost carrier route networks. Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea have launched initiatives to encourage citizens to explore more of their own countries, while Malaysia witnessed 11.1% growth in domestic travel spend in 2017. In Japan, Airbnb partnered with Peach Aviation and All Nippon Airways to inspire Japanese vacationers to pack a suitcase and spend valuable time and money discovering their homeland.

Is Asian Tourism Out of Control?: Overtourism is becoming the most critical issue in global travel. Tourism overcrowding at peak season in cities like Venice, Amsterdam and Dubrovnik has resulted in demonstrations by local residents. In Asia, surging tourist numbers have made overtourism a coming storm. New airports are being built across the region to provide essential extra capacity, while small towns and cities like Penang, Luang Prabang and Siem Reap are struggling to cope with tourism numbers. Meanwhile, the closure in April 2018 of Boracay island in the Philippines and Maya Beach in Thailand plus reports of black waves laced with sewage in Phuket have made global headlines. It seems Asia’s overtourism story is only just beginning.

Muslim Millennials Take Off: Young Muslim tourists are a coveted demographic for destinations across Asia. This is especially relevant in South East Asia, which comprises the world’s largest national muslim population in Indonesia, and Malaysia, which counts a Muslim majority population. Both countries attract large numbers of Muslim travellers from the Middle East, while Japan and Korea are among the nations promoting halal travel initiatives. More than one-third (36%) of the world’s 121 million Muslim travellers in 2016 were aged under 38, and Muslim millennials are estimated to spend USD100 billion annually on travel by 2025. The challenge is on for destination, hospitality and airline marketers to create services and amenities that respond to faith-based needs and sate the desire for exploration and new discoveries.

 

The post 5 Asia Travel Trends That Are Shaking Global Tourism appeared first on Check in Asia.

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5 Asia Travel Trends That Are Shaking Global Tourism

Asia travel trends are driving change across the world. Newly affluent Asian consumers are travelling more frequently at home, around the region and globally, and investors are following in their footsteps. From January to April 2018, international arrivals in Asia Pacific increased by 8% year on year, according to the UNWTO, with South East Asia recording 10% growth and South Asia up 9%.

As developing trends from Beijing to Mumbai and Penang to Phnom Penh resonate far and wide, Gary Bowerman, Director of Check-in Asia, provides an update on the shifting dynamics in Asian travel and tourism.

It’s All About China: China is the tourism industry’s golden child, and its free-spending globetrotters are courted by every destination on earth. In 2018, Chinese outbound border crossings could top 150 million, and the year got off to a strong start. During the Spring Festival holiday in February, 6.5 million Chinese travellers jetted off to 730 cities in 68 destinations, noted the China Tourism Academy. In the first four months of 2018, 4.2 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, while Vietnam recorded 1.8 million Chinese arrivals. China is now the leading tourism source market for more than 10 countries, and that figure is set to sky rocket. Expect more destinations to break their annual Chinese arrivals records when the 2018 statistics are released in January 2019.

Indian Tourism Expands: Asia’s second pillar economy is starting to make its tourism presence felt. Around 22 million Indians travelled overseas in 2017, a figure predicted to reach 50 million by 2020, says the UNWTO. Indian air traffic growth is outpacing every other country, according to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation – rising six fold, to 265 million passengers in 2016, compared with 44 million in 2008. In 2018, Indian domestic air travellers are expected to exceed 300 million. New flight routes, particularly to destinations in South East Asia and Australia – which hit a benchmark of 300,000 Indian arrivals (originally set for 2020) in 2017, and is targeting AUD1.9 billion in visitor spend by 2020 – make India a white-hot emerging tourism market to watch.

A Boom in Domestic Travel: Domestic tourism is booming across Asia, especially in India and China – whose vast populations are taking off to explore their continental sized landscapes. In South East Asia, short breaks and weekend trips are enhanced by proliferating low-cost carrier route networks. Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea have launched initiatives to encourage citizens to explore more of their own countries, while Malaysia witnessed 11.1% growth in domestic travel spend in 2017. In Japan, Airbnb partnered with Peach Aviation and All Nippon Airways to inspire Japanese vacationers to pack a suitcase and spend valuable time and money discovering their homeland.

Is Asian Tourism Out of Control?: Overtourism is becoming the most critical issue in global travel. Tourism overcrowding at peak season in cities like Venice, Amsterdam and Dubrovnik has resulted in demonstrations by local residents. In Asia, surging tourist numbers have made overtourism a coming storm. New airports are being built across the region to provide essential extra capacity, while small towns and cities like Penang, Luang Prabang and Siem Reap are struggling to cope with tourism numbers. Meanwhile, the closure in April 2018 of Boracay island in the Philippines and Maya Beach in Thailand plus reports of black waves laced with sewage in Phuket have made global headlines. It seems Asia’s overtourism story is only just beginning.

Muslim Millennials Take Off: Young Muslim tourists are a coveted demographic for destinations across Asia. This is especially relevant in South East Asia, which comprises the world’s largest national muslim population in Indonesia, and Malaysia, which counts a Muslim majority population. Both countries attract large numbers of Muslim travellers from the Middle East, while Japan and Korea are among the nations promoting halal travel initiatives. More than one-third (36%) of the world’s 121 million Muslim travellers in 2016 were aged under 38, and Muslim millennials are estimated to spend USD100 billion annually on travel by 2025. The challenge is on for destination, hospitality and airline marketers to create services and amenities that respond to faith-based needs and sate the desire for exploration and new discoveries.

 

The post 5 Asia Travel Trends That Are Shaking Global Tourism appeared first on Check in Asia.

5 Asia Travel Trends That Are Shaking Global Tourism

Asia travel trends are driving change across the world. Newly affluent Asian consumers are travelling more frequently at home, around the region and globally, and investors are following in their footsteps. From January to April 2018, international arrivals in Asia Pacific increased by 8% year on year, according to the UNWTO, with South East Asia recording 10% growth and South Asia up 9%.

As developing trends from Beijing to Mumbai and Penang to Phnom Penh resonate far and wide, Gary Bowerman, Director of Check-in Asia, provides an update on the shifting dynamics in Asian travel and tourism.

It’s All About China: China is the tourism industry’s golden child, and its free-spending globetrotters are courted by every destination on earth. In 2018, Chinese outbound border crossings could top 150 million, and the year got off to a strong start. During the Spring Festival holiday in February, 6.5 million Chinese travellers jetted off to 730 cities in 68 destinations, noted the China Tourism Academy. In the first four months of 2018, 4.2 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, while Vietnam recorded 1.8 million Chinese arrivals. China is now the leading tourism source market for more than 10 countries, and that figure is set to sky rocket. Expect more destinations to break their annual Chinese arrivals records when the 2018 statistics are released in January 2019.

Indian Tourism Expands: Asia’s second pillar economy is starting to make its tourism presence felt. Around 22 million Indians travelled overseas in 2017, a figure predicted to reach 50 million by 2020, says the UNWTO. Indian air traffic growth is outpacing every other country, according to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation – rising six fold, to 265 million passengers in 2016, compared with 44 million in 2008. In 2018, Indian domestic air travellers are expected to exceed 300 million. New flight routes, particularly to destinations in South East Asia and Australia – which hit a benchmark of 300,000 Indian arrivals (originally set for 2020) in 2017, and is targeting AUD1.9 billion in visitor spend by 2020 – make India a white-hot emerging tourism market to watch.

A Boom in Domestic Travel: Domestic tourism is booming across Asia, especially in India and China – whose vast populations are taking off to explore their continental sized landscapes. In South East Asia, short breaks and weekend trips are enhanced by proliferating low-cost carrier route networks. Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea have launched initiatives to encourage citizens to explore more of their own countries, while Malaysia witnessed 11.1% growth in domestic travel spend in 2017. In Japan, Airbnb partnered with Peach Aviation and All Nippon Airways to inspire Japanese vacationers to pack a suitcase and spend valuable time and money discovering their homeland.

Is Asian Tourism Out of Control?: Overtourism is becoming the most critical issue in global travel. Tourism overcrowding at peak season in cities like Venice, Amsterdam and Dubrovnik has resulted in demonstrations by local residents. In Asia, surging tourist numbers have made overtourism a coming storm. New airports are being built across the region to provide essential extra capacity, while small towns and cities like Penang, Luang Prabang and Siem Reap are struggling to cope with tourism numbers. Meanwhile, the closure in April 2018 of Boracay island in the Philippines and Maya Beach in Thailand plus reports of black waves laced with sewage in Phuket have made global headlines. It seems Asia’s overtourism story is only just beginning.

Muslim Millennials Take Off: Young Muslim tourists are a coveted demographic for destinations across Asia. This is especially relevant in South East Asia, which comprises the world’s largest national muslim population in Indonesia, and Malaysia, which counts a Muslim majority population. Both countries attract large numbers of Muslim travellers from the Middle East, while Japan and Korea are among the nations promoting halal travel initiatives. More than one-third (36%) of the world’s 121 million Muslim travellers in 2016 were aged under 38, and Muslim millennials are estimated to spend USD100 billion annually on travel by 2025. The challenge is on for destination, hospitality and airline marketers to create services and amenities that respond to faith-based needs and sate the desire for exploration and new discoveries.

 

The post 5 Asia Travel Trends That Are Shaking Global Tourism appeared first on Check in Asia.

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