A meeting of minds to inspire you!

Explore the vast opportunities of Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality with key leaders

12 - 13 September 2024

The World Islamic Tourism Conference returns to Kuala Lumpur for its fourth edition from 12 to 13 September 2024 to share new insights and thinking on the Muslim travel space.

With the theme “Forging Connections”, the conference brings together thought leaders, policymakers, industry captains, and travel experts for a discourse in three key sessions related to travel and tourism.

Session

TOPIC

session description

Session 1

UNDERSTANDING THE MUSLIM TOURIST

Connecting Muslim Tourists in the Digital Space

Muslims often feel excluded online from major social networks. In this keynote session, get to know a social network platform aimed at Muslims – and how safe Muslim digital spaces are essential.

Who is the Muslim Traveller

All too often, when destinations picture the “Muslim traveller”, they picture Middle Eastern faces – but there is a significant opportunity for second or third generation Muslim consumers living in non-OIC countries. What do these travellers want? And how can tourism stakeholders connect with them?

Female Muslim Travellers: The Powerhouse Driving the Industry Forward

In just over 10 years, more than 50 million Muslim women entered the workforce worldwide, creating an epic impact on societies worldwide. What are the implications for this for the world of tourism?

Session 2

MUSLIM-FRIENDLY TRAVEL AND THE COMMUNITY

Standards: The Key to Winning Over Muslim Tourists

Standards and certifications are the foundations of a strong Islamic Tourism ecosystem, able to instil confidence and nurture trust between Muslim-friendly tourism product and service suppliers and their customers. But is it hard? Is it expensive? Is it worth it? Experts in the industry weigh in on the matter offering new insights and perspectives.

Muslim-Friendly Travel: Empowering Communities

Tourism dispersal is a key to addressing overtourism – but simply pointing tourists in the direction of a rural village is not the answer. Instead, connection with local communities is key, to ensure that tourism is implemented in a respectful way that provides economic opportunities at the same time. Find out how some destinations are combating the overtourism issue in a sustainable way.

The Harmony of Islam and Sustainable Tourism

With the rise in demand for sustainable travel, we look at whether Muslim-friendly travel by its very nature is a new paradigm which could become the default for all travellers, non-Muslim and Muslim alike.

The Power of Food

One of the biggest attractions for any traveller is the food of a country, and to share and savour authentic food made by the locals. However, one of the challenges that Muslim travellers face is finding places which can offer these traditional flavours, but are Muslim-friendly. In this quick-fire panel, learn how food can be the focal point for a tour – instead of a solitary sandwich in a hotel room.

Session 3

GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY

Ministerial Session: Umrah Hub…a Spiritual Odyssey and Economic Opportunity

Malaysia has ambitious aims to become an Umrah hub for pilgrims en route to Saudi Arabia – and if successful, this could amplify its already current success with Indonesian pilgrims. What advantages could this bring to local and international tourism stakeholders?

Promoting Islamic Heritage as a Driver for Tourism

Hear from distinct destinations: Uzbekistan, Spain and Saudi Arabia, among others, on how they promote Islamic heritage as a key draw for tourists, both Muslim and non-Muslim. Thanks to its ancient history and significance of being on the Silk Route, Uzbekistan has an outstanding richness of Islamic heritage. Spain was once the heartland of Al-Andalus whilst Saudi Arabia has long been established as a treasure trove of heritage. Listen to our panellists to understand how they have developed Muslim-friendly tourism to showcase their culture and history.

Inspiring Entrepreneurship

Listen to key entrepreneurs getting themselves involved within the Muslim-friendly space, and hear their highs, their lows, their journey to succeed – and what opportunities are lighting them up.

Session 4

INCLUSIVITY

Bringing the Non-Mainstream, Mainstream: Connecting Across Boundaries

Running a marketing campaign for a non-Muslim company, targeted at Muslim consumers in a non-Muslim country is challenging. How have brands walked the tightrope of connecting with a targeted consumer base, whilst not alienating their mainstream consumer base? Hear from a marketing agency who was tasked with just that, running campaigns for popular consumer brands we all know and love.

Islamic Finance and the Economic Opportunities for Muslim-Friendly Travel

With more exciting online players in the Islamic finance space, how will this impact Muslim-friendly travel? What are the synergies that can be developed? And how can this lead to greater growth?

The Organiser

ISLAMIC TOURISM CENTRE

Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) is an entity under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia tasked to develop the Islamic tourism segment for Malaysia. It advocates for Muslim-friendly tourism (MFT) by offering research and market intelligence, training, industry development consultation, Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality (MFTH) service standards and certification, and information exchange.

In 2021, ITC received two key awards, i.e. Strategic Business Alliance Award at The BrandLaureate World Halal Best Brand E-Branding Awards 2021, and Best IslamicTourism Leadership Gold Award 2021 by Malaysia Tourism Council. These arerecognition of ITC’s efforts and endeavours in formulating new strategies to meet the new normal of the business environment to ensure business continuity and sustainability, notwithstanding its role to develop and grow the Islamic tourism segment in Malaysia.

In 2022, Malaysia was again named top country in the world in the MFT sector by the State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) Report 2022 by DinarStandard in partnership with Salaam Standard and supported by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.

Malaysia also retained the top-ranked destination in the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2022, a position it has defended since the launch of the Index in 2015.

These recognitions are an added motivation for ITC to continue to strengthen its efforts in being a prime mover and leading institution to ensure Malaysia is at the forefront of MFTH.