46 | P a g e 5.1.2 Malaysian aw areness towards Muslim Friendly Hospitality services and practices 1. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture has set up an Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC)to work hand in hand with Tourism Malaysia to promote Discover Malaysia: Your Muslim-Friendly Destination 2. The authority is also promoting ‘Shariah-compliance’ to the hotel and restaurant premises in Malaysia. 3. The Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) has determined that a hotel kitchen must have a Halal Executive, whereby the person must be a Malaysian citizen that has an Islamic educational background or obtains a Halal Executive certificate or a certificate from a food handling course. 4. The Department of Standards Malaysia (Standards Malaysia), the national standards and accreditation body under the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI) and Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism & Culture (MOTAC) are collaborating to organise the inaugural ‘Islamic Tourism Masterclass – Muslim Friendly Hospitality Services Standard’, an industry capacity building programme to promote the use and adoptability of the first Islamic tourism standard in the world. 5. The readiness of Malaysian accommodation towards Shariah- compliance – 8.7% of hotels had full Shariah compliance and 52.2% are partially compliant with Shariah requirements. 6. Some of the facilities offered by hotels in Malaysia include: • Qiblah signage, • halal certification for the kitchen • a dedicated prayer rooms • bidets in the toilets • Quran in the rooms • Muslim prayer schedules • halal restaurants (i.e. no alcohol sales) • shuttle to the nearest mosque for Friday prayer.
47 | P a g e 5.1.3 New tourism attraction and upcoming trends Offers halal cuisines ranging from local to western including prayer facilities. Travellers can also find Islamic events and festivals, Islamic tourism attractions, attractive Islamic related studies for Edu-tourism among the many other facilities. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture has set up an Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) to work hand in hand with Tourism Malaysia to promote Discover Malaysia: Your Muslim-Friendly Destination. Major venue for Islamic or halal themed global events. Medical tourism destination amongst Muslim travellers. Airport offers Muslim friendly facilities ranging from prayer area to halal dining. Halal food and prayer facilities are available at the attraction. 5.1.4 The main factors any tourism players need to focus on are the following: Halal Food Acceptability of different levels of Halal food assurance varies among Muslims. Prayer Facilities While traveling, some of them will combine some prayers and perform them three times a day. In order to cater to this need, services and facilities that are frequented by Muslim travellers need to be equipped with prayerrooms. Wudhu Another important consideration is the cleansing ritual. Wudhu is performed before a Muslim performs their prayers. This requires the prayer rooms to have ‘foot washing’ facilities. Water Friendly Washrooms – the use of water in the toilets, and it is discomforting for Muslim travellers where setup for water use is not available. Thus, it is important to provide facilities such as hand showers, bidets or even Japanesestyle toilets. Ramadan Services Destinations looking to attract Muslim travellers during Ramadhan period need to be able to accommodate their special needs during the month of fasting. One such example is the catering of Sahoor and Iftar halal meals by hotels. No Non-Halal Activities When it comes to traveling, these are generally centred on requiring a familyfriendly environment. As such, some Muslims would prefer to avoid facilities that serve alcohol, have discotheques or is adjacent to a gambling resort. Recreational Facilities and Services with Privacy Muslim travellers are also looking for recreational facilities that provide privacy for males and females such as swimming pools, gyms and beaches.
48 | P a g e The important of the Muslim kit for Muslim travellers Easy to perform prayer during travel anywhere and anytime Some of Muslim Travellers Starter Kit as pictures given below: Picture 5.2: Muslim Travellers Starter Kit Picture 5.3 Example of Pocket size kain pelikat
49 | P a g e Picture 5.4 : Pocket Prayer Mat Picture 5.5: Water spray for wudhu’ Picture 5.6 Prayer Kit
50 | P a g e REFERENCES Razak, N. A. A., & Aziz, R. N. R. Y. Y. A. (2019). Challenges in Implementing Muslim Friendly Hospitality Services (MFHS) in Shariah- Compliant Hotels in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(10), 96–104. https://hrmars.com/hrmars_papers/Challenges_in_Implementing_Muslim_Friendly_Hospitalit y_Services_(MFHS)_in_Shariah-Compliant_Hotels_in_Malaysia.pdf Battour, M., & Ismail, M.N., Halal tourism: Concepts, practises, challenges and future, Tourism Management Perspectives (2015), http://travelbulletinme.com/2017/11/halal-tourism-unravelling-the-opportunities-challenges/ https://www.sirim-qas.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ISO-2610-MUSLIMHOSPITALIY.pdf http://www.sbb.gov.tr/wpcontent/uploads/2018/11/Muslim_Friendly_Tourism_Understanding_the_Demand_and_Sup ply_Sides_in_the_OIC_Member_Countries%E2%80%8B.pdf http://www.halalrc.org/images/Research%20Material/Literature/Guide%20to%20Halal%20Fo ods.pdf http://www.halal.gov.my/v4/images/pdf/MPPHM2014BI.pdf http://www.halalrc.org/images/Research%20Material/Literature/Guide%20to%20Halal%20Fo ods.pdf http://www.halal.gov.my/v4/images/pdf/MPPHM2014BI.pdf https://www.halalexpertise.com/non-halal-ingredients http://www.ifrj.upm.edu.my/23%20(05)%202016/(1).pdf https://www.isahalal.com/halal-information/faqs http://ifanca.org/Pages/staticwebpages.aspx?page=HalalShopper https://www.kaznau.kz/page/GPIIR/UMCDzarubej/Russly%20Bin%20A%20Rahman.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316468958_Halal_status_of_enzymes_used_in_fo od_industry https://www.muis.gov.sg/Halal/Religious-Guidelines/Food-and-Drinks-Categories http://www.islam.gov.my/berita-semasa/25-bahagian-hab-halal/1611-info-umum-antarabahan-ramuan-kritikal-halal-dalam-produk-kek
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