The halal travel market holds a great deal of potential. According to the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2016, the global Muslim travel market was worth US$150 billion in 2015 and is projected to grow to US$220 billion by 2020.
The Halal in Travel conference will be part of the ITB Asia Trade Show. This inaugural event will bring together experts from national tourism organisations (NTO), travel industry stakeholders and online travel industry players to share insights and ideas on how to leverage this growth market to attract more travellers. Panel discussions will focus on national strategies on developing halal tourism, readiness of the travel services and discuss the use of technology in targeting the Muslim consumer. Workshops will share hands-on experience on developing Muslim-friendly travel packages.
Speakers include:
Fazal Bahardeen, founder of CrescentRating. He developed the world’s first system to rate travel and tourism services for their Muslim-friendliness. Currently, he overlooks three leading brands in the halal travel segment; CrescentRating, HalalTrip and Muslim Travel Warehouse. Prior to this, he held senior management roles at Alcatel-Lucent, based in Europe & Asia.
Riyanto Sofyan is a Strategic Partner to The Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia to develop and enhance halal tourism in Indonesia. In 2016, The Ministry appointed him to head the Team for Accelerated Development of Halal Tourism. He also holds several organisational positions including Chairman of Indonesia Sharia Hotel & Restaurant Association (ISHRA).
Zulkifly Md Said is the Director General of Islamic Tourism Centre under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia. The Centre advises on Islamic tourism, and complements the functions of the Ministry. He has served at the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board’s Northern Region office in Penang, Malaysia and at the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board’s overseas offices in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Istanbul.
Another highlight will be market intelligence. MasterCard and CrescentRating will be releasing their latest report during the Halal In Travel - Asia Summit 2016.