Hotels and resorts across the region are confident occupancy rates will remain as high as the temperatures outside, thanks to the upcoming Eid al Fitr.
Following a month of spiritual introspection, most families who head off on holiday during the Eid break are looking for something different to the western hospitality model.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Monday, 23 August 2010
Halal Friendly Travel
In his days as a jet-setting telecom executive, ready-to-eat meals were a regular part of Fazal Bahardeen's luggage. Many of the hotels he stayed in did not have halal-certified restaurants for Muslim travellers like the 47-year-old Sri Lankan-born Singaporean. Rooms lacked markers pointing to
Mecca for prayers and staff were unable to answer questions from Muslim guests about their particular needs. "Half of my life was spent in hotels and airplanes," Fazal told AFP.
"But being a Muslim, I was getting frustrated by the travel industry or the hotels not being able to provide the right services. You don't know what the prayer time is, where the prayer direction is, and you can't find halal food."
But halal travel is now gaining popularity as demand for products and services permitted by Islam extends beyond food and interest-free financial instruments, and affluent Muslim travellers make their influence felt.
Halal travel is expected to be worth 100 billion US dollars annually within two years, said Fazal, who resigned from a senior management job at a major telecom firm in 2006 and set up his own company to tap into the expected boom.
Mecca for prayers and staff were unable to answer questions from Muslim guests about their particular needs. "Half of my life was spent in hotels and airplanes," Fazal told AFP.
"But being a Muslim, I was getting frustrated by the travel industry or the hotels not being able to provide the right services. You don't know what the prayer time is, where the prayer direction is, and you can't find halal food."
But halal travel is now gaining popularity as demand for products and services permitted by Islam extends beyond food and interest-free financial instruments, and affluent Muslim travellers make their influence felt.
Halal travel is expected to be worth 100 billion US dollars annually within two years, said Fazal, who resigned from a senior management job at a major telecom firm in 2006 and set up his own company to tap into the expected boom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)