REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian Halal Tourism Association (PPHI) assures Indonesian tourism remains resilient today, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, which bring a valuable lesson for industry.
PPHI Chairman Riyanto Sofyan said that PPHI supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Bank Indonesia, and the National Committee of Sharia Economy and Finance (KNEKS) has been at the forefront in the development of Muslim-friendly Tourism (MFT) in Indonesia since 2012. The growth of MFT in Indonesia has been remarkable since 2012 although it had to be hit in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Nevertheless, we were able to recover quickly and return to first place in the MasterCard Crescentrating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2023 launched last June in Singapore,” Riyanto said at the start of the 5th Halal Tourism Summit at the Indonesian Shari'a Economic Festival in JCC, Jakarta, recently.
According to Riyanto, MasterCard Crescentrating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI), is a global benchmark that PPHI has utilized in the development of sustainable Muslim-friendly tourism in Indonesia. The benchmark for improving the competitiveness of industries and destinations since Indonesia launched Indonesia Muslim Friendly Tourism (IMTI) in Surabaya, East Java, in December 2012.
IMTI uses the ACES CrescenRating framework, which is used in MasterCard at GMTI, to assess each province in Indonesia in terms of Muslim-friendly tourism facilities and services. This strategic framework helps improve tourism offerings where the report identifies key areas that require attention for Indonesia to maintain its leadership in Muslim-friendly tourism.
The theme of The 5th Halal Tourism Summit this year is Innovating for a New Landscape of Muslim-friendly Tourism: Bringing Together Digital Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Sustainability Initiatives.
The goal of the Summit is to provide a dynamic and collaborative platform adopting innovation, knowledge exchange, and strategic partnerships in the tourism sector and the halal lifestyle industry. The Summit is also to empower stakeholders, inspire thought leadership, and drive positive transformations toward resilience and increased industry competitiveness and new destinations in the post-pandemic tourism industry landscape.
The main step is to overcome the challenges and seize the great opportunities of this high-growth Muslim-friendly tourism market. “The Muslim-friendly tourism market has become one of the main sources of international tourists, not a niche market anymore,” Riyanto said.
PPHI, Riyanto continued, hopes all activities during The 5th Halal Tourism Summit can inspire innovation for industry in providing a collective effort to accelerate the transformation towards resilience. As well as, to improve the competitiveness of industries capturing destinations in the new landscape of the tourism industry.
“We extend our highest appreciation to all those who have participated and supported this event,” he said.
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