Published on : Friday, June 13, 2014
After the first OIC International Conference on Islamic Tourism at Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta, Indonesia, the OIC member countries committed to develop the Islamic Lifestyle Industry. Indonesia, which has 12 Islamic tourism destinations, is heavily promoting Islamic tourism in various parts of the region.
Islamic tourism destination that generally found in remote areas of a country must have a strong working relationship with the local government. According to the chairman of Indonesian Islamic Hotel Association (Ahsin), Riyanto Sofyan, Islamic tourism cannot survive without the support of the local government.
According to Vice-Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sharia, Sapta Winandar, there are 14 areas in Indonesia which are ready to cooperate and make sharia tourism development a success. Among them is the province of West Java which subsidizes about 3.000 ‘halal’ certifications for Islamic business industry. Additionally, Bandung, a city in West Java is also trying to become a ‘halal’ tourist area.
The government in West Nusa Tenggara has confirmed its support to national Islamic tourism. One of the efforts made by regional governments is to straighten the public perception of Islamic tourism sector. West Nusa Tenggara is known as the city of a thousand mosques.
In the two-day conference it was found that one of the keys to success is the promotion of the Sharia tourism sector. Among the most effective media campaign is using social media such as YouTube and word-of-mouth promotion strategies.
Sharia tourism sector is one of Islamic lifestyle industry. Islamic lifestyle sector consists of Islamic and tourism halal cosmetic and culinary, Muslim fashion etc. are considered able to work together with the Islamic financial sector. Data from Dinar Standard indicates that the potential of Islamic lifestyle sector to penetrate 1.6 T USD in 2012 and will increase to 2.47 T USD in 2018. Special in East Asia, the largest Islamic lifestyle industry market today is Indonesia with more than USD 235 billion.
Tags: Islamic tourism, Tourism News
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