Managing Modern Muslim Travellers: Emerging Trends and Issues for Islamic Tourism Destinations

Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah (), Mohmed Razip Hasan and Ahmad Puad Mat Som
Additional contact information
Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah: Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam 42300, Malaysia
Mohmed Razip Hasan: Islamic Tourism Centre, Putrajaya 62200, Malaysia
Ahmad Puad Mat Som: Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu 21300, Malaysia

Tourism and Hospitality, 2022, vol. 3, issue 4, 1-11

Abstract: This research paper explores perspectives on the post-pandemic Islamic tourism market, policies, and challenges associated with sustainable growth. This paper also shares thoughts on emerging trends in the global Islamic tourism industry. The methodology used was descriptive qualitative research via in-depth interviews with twelve Muslim-friendly destination managers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea. The transcribed data were coded and then tabulated in cross-checked themes to confirm the reliability of the collected data. This study highlights two types of distinct Islamic markets whose needs and wants are unique from each other: the rigidly obedient Muslim and the modern, young, liberal Muslim. Next, this study highlights improper governance, inconsistency in Islamic tourism branding, and the lack of Muslim-based products and services as emerging issues within the modern Islamic tourism industry. This research also offers a set of future research questions on (i) the role of technology in forming the Muslim traveller experience; (ii) the importance of taking an innovative approach to form a memorable Muslim travel experience; and (iii) the dynamic nature of the modern Muslim traveller. This research paper offers fresh perspectives on understanding modern Muslim travellers which can inspire future research and advance theoretical and managerial practices among Muslim and non-Muslim tourism destinations.

Keywords: Islamic tourism; Muslim-friendly tourism; modern Muslim; trends; challenges (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z3 Z30 Z31 Z32 Z33 Z38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/3/4/58/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/3/4/58/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jtourh:v:3:y:2022:i:4:p:58-918:d:992810

Access Statistics for this article

Tourism and Hospitality is currently edited by Mr. Philip Li

More articles in Tourism and Hospitality from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().