Laurent Voivenel, CEO of HMH - Hospitality Management Holdings, says that the way forward for the hospitality industry is to be halal-friendly as halal tourism holds enormous potential. "Given the business opportunity and demand halal-friendly hotels will continue to claim bigger market share globally. By 2030, Muslims will make up more than a quarter of the global population rising from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion and 30% of this population will seek halal options," he said at the World Halal Travel Summit & Exhibition (WHTS15).
As a travel segment, halal tourism equals roughly 10% of the entire travel economy and last year was calculated to be worth US$145 billion, representing over 108 million Muslim travellers. The segment is forecast to continue to grow to 150 million visitors by 2020 and will be worth over US$200 billion globally, HMH notes. Commanding 33% share of the MENA region's halal-friendly segment, HMH created the region's first international halal-friendly chain of hotels.
HMH spotted the opportunity early in the MENA region, rolling out the concept in 2003. Voivenel said, "At HMH we have taken a ‘halal-friendly’ and not ‘halal-only’ approach. Our strategy has been to position ourselves as a perfect choice for both regional and international corporate and leisure travellers including families and single female guests seeking safe and healthy environment. Let's not forget, not everybody is seeking halal hotels. The world is shrinking with greater connectivity as well as low cost carriers opening new markets bringing in more diverse mix of travellers. Therefore, the way forward is not halal-only; rather it is halal-friendly, and that is what we are all about."
According to Laurent dry hotels are equally popular with Western or non-Muslim travellers. He said, "On average over 60% of our clientele are non-Muslims. Our typical customers are savvy travellers (both leisure and corporate) looking for value for money - basically, smart accommodation at the right price. Equally essential for them is a safe environment.
"A dry hotel can yield the same gross operating profit as the one with alcohol provided the facilities are defined right. After food and beverage, the largest money maker in a hotel is banqueting. So whenever HMH is involved in planning and development of hotel, we advise owners to allocate maximum space to meeting and banquet facilities instead of too many food and beverage outlets as that could generate superb revenue."
Interested?
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about HMH's plans to focus on the mid-market
As a travel segment, halal tourism equals roughly 10% of the entire travel economy and last year was calculated to be worth US$145 billion, representing over 108 million Muslim travellers. The segment is forecast to continue to grow to 150 million visitors by 2020 and will be worth over US$200 billion globally, HMH notes. Commanding 33% share of the MENA region's halal-friendly segment, HMH created the region's first international halal-friendly chain of hotels.
HMH spotted the opportunity early in the MENA region, rolling out the concept in 2003. Voivenel said, "At HMH we have taken a ‘halal-friendly’ and not ‘halal-only’ approach. Our strategy has been to position ourselves as a perfect choice for both regional and international corporate and leisure travellers including families and single female guests seeking safe and healthy environment. Let's not forget, not everybody is seeking halal hotels. The world is shrinking with greater connectivity as well as low cost carriers opening new markets bringing in more diverse mix of travellers. Therefore, the way forward is not halal-only; rather it is halal-friendly, and that is what we are all about."
According to Laurent dry hotels are equally popular with Western or non-Muslim travellers. He said, "On average over 60% of our clientele are non-Muslims. Our typical customers are savvy travellers (both leisure and corporate) looking for value for money - basically, smart accommodation at the right price. Equally essential for them is a safe environment.
"A dry hotel can yield the same gross operating profit as the one with alcohol provided the facilities are defined right. After food and beverage, the largest money maker in a hotel is banqueting. So whenever HMH is involved in planning and development of hotel, we advise owners to allocate maximum space to meeting and banquet facilities instead of too many food and beverage outlets as that could generate superb revenue."
Interested?
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about HMH's plans to focus on the mid-market
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