Halal travel experiences a boom

The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing tourism and hotel markets in the world, and halal-friendly hotels will continue to claim bigger market share in the region given the business opportunity and demand, according to Laurent Voivenel, the CEO of HMH - Hospitality Management Holdings.

Andy Buchanan, event director, Cacti Events, organisers of the World Halal Travel Summit coming up in October this year mirrors that opinion.

'Halal tourism is growing 100 per cent faster than any other travel niche,' he informs. 'Standard tourism is growing at 3 per cent annually but halal is almost 6 per cent. Today the market is worth $135 billion and is forecast to grow to by $230 billion by 2020. As an outbound market halal is bigger than even China.'

Over the years, HMH has established a superb reputation in terms of product consistency, quality and value for money, Voivenel says.

'That is the reason why we have a high percentage of return customers who choose to stay with our brands because they know they will get the right value for the right price surrounded by the finest Arabic hospitality. Contrary to popular belief, a dry hotel can be as lively and vibrant as any hotel. One of our key segments is families and women travellers who feel a lot more at ease in our hotels,' he says.

He continues: 'The halal-friendly policy is part of HMH’s culture and DNA. Having created the first and still the only international alcohol-free chain of hotels, HMH is the region’s largest group to operate in the halal segment. Therefore, we are uniquely positioned to capitalise on halal segment having been successful in penetrating it early. We have gathered an amazing experience both in terms of operations and market intelligence in the alcohol-free hotel segment that is one of our key strengths.'

The first new hotel to open this year for HMH will be Coral Muscat Hotel & Apartments, the flagship property in Muscat, Oman.

'Soon we will have another spectacular opening with Coral Al Madina Hotel in Saudi Arabia. The luxurious five-star hotel featuring 400-plus rooms and suites has been conceived to be a prestigious address for discerning travellers to Madina and is superbly located just across the road overlooking the Holy Mosque,' he says.

HMH will open Coral Beirut Concorde Hotel in Lebanon followed by two EWA properties in Sudan. EWA Khartoum Hotel & Apartments will be ready to welcome its guests by end of this month followed by Ewa Port Sudan Hotel & Apartments in the last quarter of this year.

The key words with halal tourism are family friendly, explains Buchanan. He also advises agents to verify that halal food is on offer but, 'please don’t position the niche as religious conservatism as that’s not the case'.

'The explosion in halal travel is driven by a young, travel-hungry urban traveller, who prefers to travel and spend with travel brands that accommodate their beliefs,' concludes Buchanan.