Qatar hopes to attract Muslim tourists with halal hotels

Record ID: 121179

  • Title: Qatar hopes to attract Muslim tourists with halal hotels
  • Date: 28th December 2015
  • Summary: DOHA, QATAR (DECEMBER 23, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GENERAL MANAGER OF AMARI HOTEL, RAMI AL-JABARI, TALKING TO AN EMPLOYEE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL MANAGER OF AMARI HOTEL, RAMI AL-JABARI, SAYING: "The most important factor here in Qatar is that the government and tourism authority support the halal hotels sector. In the past they was called alcohol-free hotels. But si
  • Embargoed: 12th January 2016 11:55
  • Keywords: Qatar halal hotels tourism
  • Location: DOHA, QATAR
  • City: DOHA, QATAR
  • Country: Qatar
  • Topics: Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA0033FRMCLX
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Qatari hotels are hoping to attract more visitors by targeting halal-conscious tourists.
    Halal hotels would abide by Islamic law not serving products containing alcohol or pork.
    The hotels could also have gender-segregated swimming pools and spa facilities which would attract more Muslim women and those following a modest dress code.
    At the Grand Heritage Hotel in Doha, Business Development Director Mousa El-Nemarry expects the halal-friendly concept to be a success.
    "In Qatar, it's still a new concept, but it's successful so far. There are other countries who are ahead of us in the halal hotels concept, like the UAE. In Dubai for instance, there are more than 10 famous hotels that are 'dry hotels' and their occupancy rate is similar to other hotels. It depends on the hotel location and how it is marketed. The dependency on serving alcohol to promote a hotel is attractive to some people of course, but not for a society like Qatar. The Qatari society is still conservative. Even non-Qataris who are working in Qatar demand hotels that are sharia-compliant," he said.
    El-Nemarry added that halal hotels could be just as profitable as those serving alcohol if they targeted the right customers which could include tourists with specific dietary requirements and athletes, as well as Muslim families.
    "In Qatar most 'dry hotels' or sharia-compliant hotels are very successful and enjoy high profits. But they must identify the market they want to target. Are they targeting people who want alcohol, or families and even European guests who follow strict healthy diets that prohibit alcohol or athletes? I think this is the future trend in Qatar," he said.
    Chief Tourism Development Officer at Qatar's Tourism Authority, Hassan Al-Ibrahim, said that focussing on visitors from neighbouring Gulf states was the key to making halal hotels profitable in Qatar.
    "Halal tourism is not new in the region. Maybe it's a new concept for other tourist destinations, but the nature of tourism in the Gulf and the Arab region is mostly halal and compliant with the moral standards of these destinations. So, halal tourism is not a new concept for the region or Qatar and it serves a certain category that we focus on in Qatar as a tourist destination," he said.
    Rami Al-Jabari, General Manager of the Amari Hotel, a halal hotel which recently opened in the Doha district of Msherieb, said that it is vital for the government to support the halal sector and attract Muslim visitors from Asian as well as Arab countries.
    "The most important factor here in Qatar is that the government and tourism authority support the halal hotels sector. In the past this was called alcohol-free hotels. But since 2014 and onwards we have started to use the term halal hotels. This was easier for all Arab and Muslims to understand and it helps hotels and the tourism sector to attract Muslim tourists, especially from East Asian countries and Arab countries," he said.
    Earlier this year, Abu Dhabi hosted the first World Halal Travel Summit, where organisers predicted that many lucrative projects were in the pipeline for halal hotels in the region, with halal tourism being a fast growing sector, most notably in wealthy Gulf states.
    Muslim tourists are one of the fastest growing travel groups. Attracting them is all the more crucial given a slowdown in the economies of Europe and China, the source of many global travellers. Muslim travellers look for restaurants serving food that is halal, or permissible under Islamic law, as well as readily accessible mosques or prayer rooms.
    Last year, 108 million Muslim travellers spent $145 billion, equivalent to 10 percent of global travel spending, according to the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI).
    By 2020, this amount is expected to rise to $200 billion.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register