Islamic tourism is often thought to be about providing halal food, but Malaysia has noted that it also includes the full suite of hospitality services that comply with shari'ah law. This encompasses hotels, resorts, restaurants and airlines that offer food with halal certificates, but also do not serve alcoholic beverages, prayer facilities, provide separate wellness facilities for women, and a generally Muslim-friendly environment.
The Muslim Friendly Hospitality Services (MFHS) standard is Malaysia’s first standard dedicated for the Islamic tourism sector. Initiated and led by International Institute for Halal Research & Training (INHART) of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), the original submission to develop the standard was made in December 2012 to the Department of Standards Malaysia (DSM). This was followed by the appointment of SIRIM as the standard’s secretariat by DSM and the formation of a draft committee by the Technical Committee (TC) on Management System from Islamic Perspectives.
An industry review was held on 14 August and reported on 15 August on the ITC website. According to the report, Zulkifly Said, Director General of the ITC, said that implementation of the standard will be on a voluntary basis on the part of industry players, but pointed out that the guidelines will be a powerful marketing tool for businesses.