Muslims represents 87% of Indonesia’s total population, making it the largest Muslim population in the world with an estimated of 229 million people. Within the last two decades, the Muslim middle class has been driving demand for halal products and services, including tourism.

Interestingly, Indonesia is a paradox. As per capita income increases, the country is becoming more religious, not secular. Data from the World Bank shows that in 2020 there were 144 million people categorised as middle class with per-capita income more than US$3,846 per year.

For some time, Muslim market travel has been to Hajj or Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca, but as the Muslim middle class grows it is travelling for leisure and recreation.

Rabbani Tour founder, Masrura Ramidjal said there are Muslim customers who specifically look for a tour package that can guarantee them to perform prayer five times a day during travel. In terms of food, they demand products that only use halal materials and are processed in compliance with Islamic rules.

For food, Muslim travellers insist on halal ingredients and processing following Islamic guidelines, emphasizing more than just avoiding pork and lard. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/Rawpixel.com

“No pork, no lard food is just not enough for them,” Masrura added.

Europe is still a magnet for Muslim travellers

“People are still enthusiastic about taking photos at the Eiffel Tower, or playing in the snow in Switzerland. After Europe, Indonesia’s Muslims want to go to Australia or Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Spain, and Portugal,” said Masrura, adding that Japan and South Korea are also in demand.

Rabbani offers one strict rule when it comes to the choice of tourist destination.

“We are very careful visiting destinations that could make people envious,” said Masrura. She gave an example of the Fontana di Trevi in Rome, where you can make a wish while throwing a coin backwards over your left shoulder into the fountain. “That’s being envious. We warn our customers about it.”

Travelling is becoming a necessity among the middle class Muslims. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/epic_images

Another leading tour and travel company, Panorama, set up a special division for halal tourism in 2022.

“With the growing [Muslim] middle class, travelling is becoming a necessity. Even though they wear hijabs, they still want to travel to Korea, China, Yunnan, Europe, and other parts of the world,” said Hellen Xu, Panorama’s director.

In order to meet the needs of Muslim travellers, Panorama offers tour packages with extended services, such as allocating times for praying in the itinerary and offering halal food. Panorama will also make sure the tourist destination selected has Muslim-friendly facilities and infrastructures, such as toilets that meet Muslim standards and prayer rooms (mushala).

“During the day, we always provide a place, whether it's a prayer room, mosque, or a room, for our guests to pray. And [during the trip], they will be accompanied by a Muslim tour leader,” Efi Hafiza, head of the Muslim tour division at Panorama, said.

Misconception of Halal Tourism

Back in Indonesia, some tourism practitioners feel there is no need to have halal labels in the industry as it only creates controversy, especially when applied in the non-Muslim majority regions such as Bali, East Nusa Tenggara and North Sumatra.

Historically, the idea to promote halal tourism came from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism under the command of Minister Arief Yahya who served from 2014-2019. The government at that time saw a potential market of foreign Muslim travellers, especially from the Middle East.

Muslim tourists are big spenders. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/rocketclips

Data shows that spending by Muslim tourists is big. According to the State of Global Islamic Economy Report in 2022 tourists from Saudi Arabia spent US$13.7 billion on travel, UAE tourists spent US$10 billion, while those from Qatar spent $7.8 billion and Kuwait not far behind, spening $7 billion.

In response, the government setup a special team to accelerate and develop halal tourism, initially aiming to identify 10 provinces in Indonesia for halal tourism development. There are Aceh, West Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, West Java, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Central Java, East Java and South Sulawesi.

But the concept has been rejected by those who live in non-Muslim majority regions. There is strong resistance against halal tourism in Bali where a majority of the Hindu community lives. The governor, I Wayan Koster, made a strong statement saying that Bali offers culture-based tourism, not a religion-based one.

A similar tone was expressed by Batak people who predominately live in North Sumatra. Most Batak are Christian and pork makes up an important part of their cuisine and important ceremonies.

In response, the central government has said halal tourism is not a form of Islamisation of tourism, but rather it is a concept to develop basic additional services for Muslim travellers such as providing halal food and facilities for prayer, and providing tourist destinations with toilets that are friendly for Muslims.