Tourism is developing and expanding globally in Türkiye and in the world every year. As a natural result of this development and expansion, competition is increasing and hardening. Muslim countries have started to catch up with this trend, albeit a little behind, and the number of Muslim tourists globally, which was 25 million in 2000, approached 200 million tourists in 2022 and is expected to exceed 230 million tourists in 2026 [1][2].

Türkiye is one of the first countries to stand out in this field. As a Muslim country, with its proximity to the Middle East, where the Muslim population in the world is the most dense, it naturally receives a very significant share of the Muslim tourist demand. This target group also demands halal products and services in the destinations they visit. Various facilities (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafes, Spas, etc.) offer halal “ambitious” services for these expectations.

In accordance with Law No. 7408, touristic facilities wishing to offer their services with “halal logo” and “halal certificate” must be certified within the scope of TS OIC/SMIIC 9:2019 Halal Tourism Services standard [3].

TS OIC/SMIIC 9:2019 Halal Tourism Services standard is the official halal tourism standard of Türkiye. Within the framework of the halal certification system organised by the Halal Accreditation Agency in Türkiye and based on the OIC/SMIIC standards, halal tourism certificates can only be issued by Halal Certification Bodies accredited by HAK under the OIC/SMIIC 2:2019 standard. There are also administrative sanctions for facilities and businesses that claim halal services without obtaining a halal certificate from an accredited Halal Certification Body or that use halal logos and documents foreign to the OIC/SMIIC system.

Remember! Halal tourism is not compulsory, but facilities wishing to address the halal service market are required to obtain this certificate. They will be able to provide better quality services to their customers who are especially sensitive about halal.

What are the basic expectations of Muslim tourists?

  • Halal Food
  • Masjid
  • Water Friendly Toilets
  • Absence of Islamophobia
  • Social problems are not reflected in tourism services
  • Ramadan services
  • Local Muslim Experiences
  • Separate recreation areas for men and women
  • Not offering non-halal services

What are the advantages of halal tourism certificate;

  • The demand for Turkey will increase. This means more business for our touristic facilities.
  • Facilities with halal certificate will be preferred by Muslim tourists.

Before we finish this article, let’s also point our that it is NOT mandatory to provide 100% halal certificates in order to obtain a halal certificate according to OIC/SMIIC 9. There are three different categories allowed by the OIC/SMIIC system. These are:
1) Category A: Accommodation Premises with Halal Tourism Advanced Scale Services
2) Category B: Accommodation Premises with Halal Tourism Medium Scale Services
3) Category C: Accommodation Premises with Halal Tourism Basic Scale Service
The logic behind this approach is to introduce realistic solutions to tourism services and facilities that wish to invest in providing halal services but require a certain level of flexibility in accordance with market expectations.
In our next blog we will explain the differences between these categories.