World Islamic Tourism Forum (WITF), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 12-13 July 2011

VALUE OF ISLAMIC TOURISM OFFERING

Perspectives from the Turkish Experience

Teoman Duman, Ph.D.

International Burch University
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Aims
1. To propose definitions of Islamic tourism and halal
tourism
2. To propose a framework of perceived value for
Islamic tourism decision making process

3. To provide an overview of halal tourism market in

Turkey

For details of the presentation

Please request a copy of my conference paper
through;

teomanduman@yahoo.com

Introduction
Yearly international tourist arrivals have reached to one billion threshold.

Technology is making everything easier today.

Travel is becoming a way of life for most people.
One of the largest segments of travelers is Muslim travelers.

Muslims have special needs due to their belief system.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about Islam and Islamic values.
Whatever the reasons for misunderstanding, it is our duty as muslims to

convey the true message of Islam and set good examples.

Introduction - continued
Tourism is one of the realities of contemporary life.
People travel for many reasons.
Many see tourism as satisfaction of some basic needs.
Others see it as an expression of unacceptable extremes.
Maybe, there is truth in each of these perceptions.
The main question for Muslims is; What is the status of tourism in Islam?
Does it represent satisfaction of basic needs for us as Muslims too? Or,
Does it represent extremes which are unacceptable in our value system?

Introduction - continued
So far, the West has established tourism as a strong sector of the economy and as an
academic discipline.
But, we, Muslims, seem to act too slow to define its role in Muslim societies.
Some of the preliminary questions that come to my mind are,
How does Islam and tourism interact? And, how should we define Islamic
tourism?
Who is the Muslim tourist and what does s/he look for in his/her tourism
experience?

What does value mean for Muslim tourists? What makes products valuable for
them?
How do Muslim countries handle tourism as a sector?

Questions?
Three specific questions I intend to tackle in my speech today

are,
How should we define Islamic tourism and halal tourism?
What does value mean for Muslim tourists? What makes
products valuable for them?
As a special case, what are the historical, political and

sectoral dynamics of halal tourism industry in Turkey?

Definition of Tourism
Before I attemp to define Islamic tourism, I will provide the

definition of tourism in general.

According to WTO, Tourism comprises the activities of
persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual
environment for not more than one consecutive year for
leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise
of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.
(Medlik, 2003).

Definition of Tourism
Tourism has three key characteristics. These are,

the movement of people (make up the demand side)

a sector of the economy or the industry (makes up supply
side)
a broad system of interacting relationships of people, their
needs to travel outside their communities and services that

attempt to respond to these needs by supplying products

(Page and Connell, 2009, 65; Chadwick, 1994, 65).

Definition of Islamic Tourism

There are still definitional ambiguities with regards to
Islamic tourism concept (Henderson, 2010).
Henderson (2010) distinguishes between Islamic

tourism, non-Islamic tourism and un-Islamic (antiIslamic) tourism.

Previous Definitions of Islamic Tourism

Some of the previous definitions of Islamic tourism include:
All product development and marketing efforts designed for and directed at Muslims
(Henderson, 2010).
Tourism mainly by Muslims (Henderson, 2009).
Islamic tourism as an economic, cultural and religious (conservative) concept (Ala-

Hamarneh , 2011).
All forms of tourism except those that go against Islamic values (Shakiry, 2006).
The type of tourism that adheres to the values of Islam (Hassan, 2007).
A new ethical dimension in tourism (Hassan, 2004).

Islamic tourism covers tourism activities by Muslims in seaside destinations for the
purposes of relaxation and entertainment in hospitality enterprises that apply Islamic
principles (Dogan, 2010).

Definition of Islamic Tourism

Previous definitions give reference to,

participants of the activity (i.e. Muslims)
locations of the activity (i.e. Islamic destinations, countries)
dimensions of the activity (i.e. economic, cultural, religious
dimensions)
products offered to the markets (i.e. accommodation facilities, trips,
food and beverage)
management of the service production process (i.e. marketing and
ethics)

Motivational perspective to Islamic tourism

In an excellent review, Din (1989) talked about the
role of travel and tourism in Islam.
In this classical article, Din argued that travel in Islam

is

purposeful

(goal-oriented)

activity

and

motivations are at the center of the activity (p. 552).

Motivational perspective to Islamic tourism

Muslims travel to achieve physical, social and
spiritual goals by travelling.
Also, in Islam, deeds are valued according to

intentions (Sahih-Al Bukhari, 2011).

Motivational perspective to Islamic tourism

Accordingly, it can be argued that travel and tourism in

Islam are goal-oriented activities that originate from

Islamic motivations (e.g. acting in the cause of God (fisabilillah), submission to the ways of God, realization of
the smallness of man and the greatness of God and
encouraging and strengthening the bond of sillaturrahim

(muslim fraternity) (Din, 1989)).

Motivational perspective to Islamic tourism

Islamic motivations deviate from generic motivations to

travel in most instances.

Examples of Islamic and generic motivations are in Table 1.

Table 1. Examples of Generic and Islamic Tourist Motivations

Generic
Motivations

Islamic
Motivations

Motivations

Sources

Conducting business, visiting friends or relatives, pursuing other

personal business activities (i.e. shopping) and pleasure
Experiencing culture, pleasure-seeking, fantasy, relaxation, physical
participation
Relaxing mentally, discovering new places and things, avoiding the
hustle and bustle of daily life, relaxing physically, being in a calm
atmosphere, increasing knowledge, having good time with friends,
being with others, building friendships with others, using imagination,
gaining a feeling of belonging, challenging personal abilities, using
self abilities and skills in sports, developing close relationships.
Climate, relaxation, adventure, personal reasons (i.e. nostalgia),
educational motives

Goeldner and Ritchie

(2006)
Kozak (2002)
Ryan and Glendon
(1998)

Bansal and Eiselt

(2004)

Acting in the cause of God (fi-sabilillah), submission to the ways of Din (1989)
God (through the Hajj and the Umrah), realization of the smallness of
man and the greatness of God, encouraging and strenthening the bond
of sillaturrahim (muslim fraternity), conducting business
Aglamaz (2009)
Seeking health (relaxation), education (learning-teaching-information
sharing-visiting scientists), realization of other cultures, business
Declaration of Islam (Tebli), seeking scientific knowledge, Kusursuz (2011)
educating others, work for halal earnings, taking lessons from past

A Proposed Definition of Islamic Tourism:

Motivational Perspective
From this perspective, I propose to define
Islamic tourism as:
All tourism activities by Muslims that originate from
Islamic motivations and are realized according to
shariah principles.

Tourism vs. Islamic Tourism

If we apply this definition to the WTO definition, then,
Islamic tourism can be defined as the activities of
Muslims travelling to and staying in places outside their
usual environment for not more than one consecutive year
for participation of activities that originate from Islamic

motivations which are not related to the exercise of an

activity remunerated from within the place visited.

Islamic Tourism as an Economic Activity

Categorization of tourism related goods and services that are
designed, produced and presented to the markets according to
Islamic rules (shariah) can be considered under halal tourism.
Such use of the terminology is already common in daily usage
halal trips

hotels
airlines
food etc. (Hassan, 2008; halaltrip.com; Wikipedia, 2011).

Islamic Tourism Decision Making Process and

Perceived Value
Based on previous discussion, I propose the
following perceived value model for Islamic
tourism decision making process

A Proposed Model of Perceived Value for Islamic Tourism Decision Making Process
motivations

islamic
motivations
for
travelling

decision
making
black box

service
consumption

postpurchase
evaluation

future
behavior

affective
aspects
decision
makingSheriah
compliance

value
monetary
aspects

generic
motivations
for travelling

behavioral
intentions
nonmonetary
aspects
decision
making

non-islamic
motivations
for
travelling

satisfaction

quality
aspects

Denotes Tourism Participation and Evaluation Process for Non-Muslim Tourists

Denotes Tourism Participation and Evaluation Process for Muslim Tourists

Halal Tourism in Turkey

Turkish tourism industry
Turkish tourism product

Halal tourism industry in Turkey

Historal perspective
Political perspective

Legal status
Major types of halal tourism
Seaside
Hot-spa (thermal)
Market description

Turkish Tourism Industry

One of the top ten destinations in the World
28 million international tourists in 2010
$21 billion tourism receipts
$630 average tourist spending
By 2023, 63 million tourists, $86 billion
earnings

Turkish Tourism Product

Possible to find all kinds of tourism
Around 600,000 touristic bed capacity

2600 touristic accommodation facilities

These numbers are up from 56,000 bed capacity and 500
facilities in 1980.
Antalya, Istanbul and Mugla are the three major destinations
accommodating around 50% of international visitors to the

country (Duman and Kozak, 2010).

Recent History of Tourism Development in Turkey

A Review of Recent Tourism Development

History in Turkey is given in Table 2.
Number of Halal seaside hotels increased from 5

to 39 after AKP took over the government (2002).

Halal hot-spa facilities doubled during the same

period.

Table 2. A Review of Recent Tourism Development History in Turkey

Political
environment

Before 1980s
Political
turmoil

Scope of

tourism activity

1980-1992
1992-2002
Turgut zal
Political turmoil
ANAP
Economic
Political stability
downturn

Very limited
tourism
activity

Establishment of
tourism
legislation
Planning and
infrastructure
Upsurge in
tourist numbers
Recognition in
European
markets

Building of
superstructure
Rising promotion
activities
Increasing supply
Popularity in
Russian markets
Increasing tourist
numbers
Popularity of allinclusive
vacations
Decreasing
tourism earnings

2002-2011
Recep Tayyip Erdoan AKP
Political stability
Economic development
Rising of middle class

Increasing tourism
supply and demand
Tourism product
diversification
Increasing thermal
tourism supply
Holistic tourism
planning (Turkish
Tourism Strategy
2023)
Upsurge in
participation of
Muslims in tourism
activity

Types of Halal Tourism Facilities in Turkey

Primarily, there are two types of halal tourism

facilities in Turkey
Seaside facilities
Hot-spa (thermal) facilities
Popular terminology that connotes these
facilities is given in Table 3.

Table 3. Terminology used by hospitality enterprises to describe vacations

and tourism products to attract Muslim tourists in Turkey
Terminology in Turkish

Terminology in English

slami tatil yerleri

Islamic vacation destinations

Islami oteller

Islamic hotels

Muhafazakar oteller tatil kyleri - tatil

Conservative hotels resorts - vacation

Alternatif tatil -oteller

Alternative hotels - vacations

Tesettrl oteller

Veiled (covered) hotels

Dini oteller

Religious hotels

Islami termal oteller

Islamic hot-spa (thermal) hotels

Islami kaplicalar

Islamic hot-spas

Kaplcalar

Hot-spas

Dindar tatil

Religious vacations

kisiz oteller

Alcohol-free hotels

Bay-bayan ayr havuzlu oteller

Hotels with separate pools for man and women

Islami konseptli otel

Hotels with Islamic concept

Table 4. Selected Seaside Hospitality Enterprises in Turkey Targeting Muslim Populations

Note
: Categorization of hotels is based on web-site descriptions.
Sources : Doan (2011); islamitatil (2011); tesetturluoteller (2011) and islamioteller (2011).

Table 5. Selected Hot-spa Hospitality Enterprises in Turkey Targeting Muslim

Populations

Note
: Categorization of hotels is based on web-site descriptions.
Sources : Islamitatil (2011); tesetturluoteller (2011) and islamioteller (2011).

Capacity of Halal Tourism Facilities in Turkey

Total hospitality enterprises in Turkey (100%)

600,000 beds in 2600 facilities
Hospitality enterprises using halal tourism
concept (5.6%)
33,781 beds in 64 facilities

Legal Status of Halal Tourism Industry in Turkey

No direct reference to selling of alcoholic beverages

Four-star holiday villages have to have an open or closed bar

Five-star holiday villages have to have a discotheque or a night
club
Halal hotels use these facilities for their own purposes
They are criticisized to separate beaches illegally for men and

women.

Market Description
Three major markets

Turkish citizens living and working in European countries

(Around 2.4 million)
Upscale customers with conservative Islamic lifestyles
(rising middle-class)
Foreign Muslim tourists especially from Middle Eastern

countries

Consumer Behavior
Internet based survey of halal tourism participants
Generally positive views - majority of participants;
find halal hotels Islamically acceptable (59%)
think vacation is a need (66%)
search for price, cleanliness and quality of service in choice
find prices expensive
keep religious sensitivity during vacation (70%) and

spend most of the time swimming and suntanning.

Consumer Behavior
Complaints are generally about
high prices
low service quality

common usage of beaches with non-Muslim

tourists

fake halal hotels

Conclusion

Future projects about Islamic tourism may

include,
graduate research (master-doctoral thesis)
consumer behavior studies
edited book
special issue in journals
e-library
certification and standardization practices for
industry

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

Teoman Duman, Ph.D.

teomanduman@yahoo.com
International Burch University
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina