Halal tourism,is it really Halal?

The study of religion has attracted interest and considerable attention from researchers and practitioners as a result of wanting to know more about religions (such as Islam) and religiosity. However, regardless of the importance of religious studies, religious tourism is still very much under-represented in the literature. In fact, it is distressing to find that little is known about religious tourism in many developed and developing economies. Meanwhile, Islamic tourism (or Halal tourism) is deeply rooted within the Islamic Shari'ah as every Muslim is required to travel for many reasons, some directly related to Islamic Shari'ah itself (e.g. Hajj and Umrah) while many travel for education, medical treatment, and knowledge acquisition, etc. This paper examines the concept of Halal tourism (as a subcategory of religious tourism), its roots, principles and most importantly answers the questions: is Halal tourism really Halal? Is Halal tourism only for Muslim families who abide by Islamic Shari'ah rules? Should it be Halal tourism or Islamic tourism? Is Halal tourism only about Islamic countries or it is also important for other countries? What are the impacts of non-compliance to Halal principles on hotels (and other tourism organisations) performance?     

Halal tourism: Concepts,practises, challenges and future

Tourism recognizes the growing interest in Halal tourism from both the perspectives of industry and research. Halal tourism can be summarized by any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in tourism industry, according to Islamic teachings. Therefore, the success of developing and marketing Halal tourism destination must be guided by the adoption of Islamic teachings and principles in all aspects of tourism activities. This paper explores the concept of Halal tourism along with the components which constitute the industry. It provides worldwide examples of some of the current best practises. The opportunities and challenges in developing and marketing Halal tourism are also discussed.     

The impact of Halal tourism,customer engagement on satisfaction: moderating effect of religiosity

The research aimed at finding out the relationship between Halal tourism, religiosity, customer engagement, and tourist’s satisfaction. The population of the study were Muslim tourists who visited West Sumatra, Indonesia. The data were 450 respondents, but only 393 were useable responses. It is found that Halal tourism and customer engagement have significant impacts on the tourist’s satisfaction. Religiosity is a significant moderating variable on this relationship. Thus, this study gives some contribution to tourism sector especially on Halal tourism, religiosity, and customer satisfaction.     

Halal tourism: antecedent of tourist’s satisfaction and word of mouth (WOM)

The concept of Halal tourism has emerged recently in research. It becomes an important factor in determining the satisfaction of tourists or their loyalty. However, this concept is still not well known; thus, it needs to be developed in certain areas. The research was conducted to see the link between the attributes of Halal tourism (i.e. Islamic facility, Halalness, general Islamic morality, and alcohol drinks- and gambling-free), satisfaction of tourists and word of mouth (WOM). The respondents of the research were 345 derived from 5 municipals in West Sumatera, Indonesia. The research used structural equation model. The result of the research shows that the attributes of Halal tourism have significant impacts on satisfaction of tourists and WOM. There is no significant direct relationship between the attributes of Halal tourism and WOM. However, the satisfaction of tourists is significant as the mediator. Furthermore, some limitations and future research are discussed.     

Muslim world: A study of tourism & pilgrimage among OIC Member States

This study is concerned with tourism in general and pilgrimage in specific among Muslim countries. Reference is made to conditions in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States and their travel and tourism industry and the role of religion (Islam) in tourism and society. Selected literature, other relevant documents and data derived from previous studies and personal observations/experiences were examined to provide insights on the subject and to help achieve the objectives of study. Findings revealed that tourism and pilgrimage have great potential in most Muslim countries. However, in general, it constrained by several internal and external factors, which lead the industry's contribution to economic growth and unity among Muslim nations relatively limited.     

What services do Muslim tourists want? Uncovering nonlinear relationships and unobserved heterogeneity

Halal tourism is a dynamic emerging market segment that is growing at a notable pace. Understanding the Muslim travelers' needs, interests and behaviors is a key priority for professionals. Therefore, the goals of this study are twofold: first, to examine the linear and nonlinear effects of Islamic physical and nonphysical hotel attributes on Muslim guests' visit intention and willingness to pay extra, and second, to employ an advanced segmentation method for revealing different types of Muslim travelers. Data were randomly collected from 559 Muslim in the United Arab Emirates. The study adopted the finite mixtures partial least squares technique to investigate the question of unobserved heterogeneity among Muslim travelers. The study results reveal important linear and nonlinear relationships and three new Muslim segments. The segment-specific findings offer distinctive insights for managers, policy makers and decision makers in developing long-term strategies for tapping into the Muslim travel market.     

How can Taiwan create a niche in Asia's cruise tourism industry?

Cruise tourism is a significant growth trend in Europe and America. However, in recent years, it has gradually gained popularity among tourists in Asia, showing great potential. Strategically located in Asia, Taiwan is an ideal place to develop cruise tourism. This study explores how Taiwan could build a niche in Asia's cruise tourism industry. It applies the Fuzzy Delphi and Fuzzy IPA methods. According to study results, Taiwan should prioritize on the following aspects: establishing a 24-h tourist service center, providing a complete cruise logistics service, inviting foreign cruise operators to inspect special resources in Taiwan, cooperating with other Asian countries, setting up a special government unit, as well as planning and developing unique tourism resources.     

Halal tourism: Emerging opportunities

The main purpose of this paper is to raise awareness about the growing Halal tourism market segment and identify the fundamental needs of this segment. What is Halal tourism? What are the sources that inform about Halal tourism? What is the potential of Halal tourism? How does one attract this potential segment? These are some of the questions to which a response is provided in the paper. The methodology is largely reliant on secondary information. The paper also makes some recommendations which have implications for the practitioners.     

基于区块链的旅游行业征信系统设计

区块链技术去中心化、数据不可篡改、可溯源的特征对旅游业征信系统具有重要价值。文章简要分析了区块链的基本概念,确定了以联盟链为基础构建旅游征信系统。锚定征信主体为游客和旅游业从业人员,关注旅游不文明行为和"服务不一致"现象,设计区块链旅游征信系统的架构,并从区块链电子身份、Token信用积分、智能合约执行、信息认定和发布几个方面阐述设计思路。研究表明,基于区块链的旅游征信系统在构建高效、开放的旅游服务体系、引导旅游行业诚信规范执业、推进旅游服务标准化建设等方面都有极大潜力。但同时,区块链旅游征信系统也面临技术和商业上的极大挑战。     

Visa restrictions and their adverse economic and marketing implications – Evidence from China

Governments spend considerable public resources, including tax dollars, on marketing their cities or countries in order to become a strong brand attractive for exports, foreign direct investment and tourism. Ironically at the same time, self-imposed and strict visa regulations that can potentially hamper the productivity of marketing and branding are fairly common. There are valid reasons for imposing strict visa regulations, two of the most important being national and economic security. Although strict visa regulations are a common phenomenon around the world, the tourism academia have yet to argue against strict visa regulations by providing empirical evidence on their potential impact on tourism demand, and hence the economy. The current study is a pioneer attempt to generate awareness about the potential detrimental impacts of visa restrictions on a country’s economy, by using the case of People’s Republic of China, one of the countries known to have a history of strict visa regulations. The research reported in this paper was based on the standard tourism demand function, which models the causal relationship between tourism demand and a number of macroeconomic variables. The autoregressive distributed lag model (ADLM) was used since it has a dynamic specification that takes the time path of the tourist decision-making process into consideration by using both current and lagged values of variables. Results show the negative effect of visa regulations on both country-level and prefecture-level economies. Implications are discussed and recommendations provided.     

Locating Muslimah in the travel and tourism research

Female Muslims have commonly been stereotyped as a subordinate group. However, their tourism participations have evolved through time that recently, it became a niche tourism segment of its own. Through reviewing existing literature, this study provides a comprehensive analysis and interpretation on the phenomenon of female Muslim travel/tourism. Common research domains were: ‘Choice of travel companion(s)’, ‘Issue of gender subordination’, ‘Gendered identity and religious stereotypes’ and ‘Factors facilitating travel’. This study asserted that female Muslims' perceptions and experiences of travel/tourism are majorly impacted by their religious and gendered identities. The literature appraisal also demonstrated scholarship progressions by analyzing and discussing research approaches taken by existing studies. Ultimately, it drew insights on research gaps and future research directions.     

中国旅游业“潮涌现象”的预警与预防

文章基于＂潮涌现象＂的一般机理,探讨旅游业＂潮涌现象＂发生的基本逻辑及特殊性,认为中国旅游业曾经发生过局部的投资＂潮涌＂,并通过对旅游供需形势的预判,对中国旅游业发生全面＂潮涌现象＂提出预警。旅游业＂潮涌现象＂的预防,以转变政府旅游职能为关键,以优化旅游发展基本模式为根本。     

The cruise industry in China: Efforts,progress and challenges

The cruise industry has evolved considerably and in recent years emerged to become one of the most rapidly developing segments of the global tourism industry, with millions of passengers cruising each year. On a global basis, the cruising sector is overwhelmed by North America. During recent years above average growth rates are reported in emerging cruise markets in the Asia Pacific region. As one of the core elements of the Asian cruise market, China is undergoing rapid growth in terms of both cruise ship visits and cruise tourists. However, limited research has been undertaken in regard to growth of cruising industry in China. The purpose of this article is to report current development of the cruise industry in mainland China. First, we briefly provide an overview of the worldwide cruise industry. Then, we summarize the history and the growth of the cruising sector in China; report characteristics of Chinese cruise passengers and compare them with others; highlight information on geographical distribution, berthing capacity and cruise business performance of each cruise port along China's coastlines; and introduce various cruise policy documents issued by Chinese governments. Finally, we discuss some issues, challenges and relevant managerial implications for developing this niche form of tourism in this country.     

境外残障旅游与无障碍旅游研究进展与启示

文章围绕残障与旅游、残障旅游市场需求、残障旅游市场供给和无障碍旅游4大研究主题8个研究细类,梳理残障旅游境外研究状况。境外研究总体态势是以残障群体旅游需求为研究重点,围绕残障群体的旅游特点、动机、需求、偏好、决策、体验和出行障碍作诸多有益探索;同时基于残障群体的旅游需求特性,从旅行社、航空运输、住宿、景区4大旅游产业角度,针对性研究解决残障人群出行和旅游参与障碍、提供合理旅游产品和服务的思路和方法。文章最后评述了境外研究的思路、方法与不足,并从研究方法、研究团队构成和近期可以开展的研究领域对国内学者提出建议。     

Use of E-marketing tools as communication management in the tourism industry

Innovative processes in the tourism industry are usually defined by improving customer services and by investing in Information and communication technology (ICTs). Tourism companies cooperate with developing countries and their attractiveness on the international tourism market as well as with communication of the image concept. New technologies facilitate the availability of tourism services by offering customer-friendly services. Although the tourism business is considered as a pioneer in the adoption of new technologies, studies have shown that new technologies often seem be inadequate, and their impact assessment is not systematic. The aim of this research is to define the potential improvements of the e-marketing within the tourism industry through the characterization of the importance of tourism innovation, evaluation of the key e-marketing communication tool preferences from the point of view of the Lithuanian tourism users. Overall, 384 tourists were surveyed to achieve the research objective. Findings show that e-marketing tools used in the Lithuanian tourism industry are effective, although, there are strategies that are not fully operational or not used at all.     

旅游业能源需求与二氧化碳排放研究进展

人类利用能源导致温室气体排放量的持续增加是全球气候变化的直接驱动力。旅游开发、旅游活动及旅游业发展引起的温室气体排放是旅游业驱动气候变化的重要因素,同时也是发展旅游业主要的环境影响结果之一。随着旅游业的蓬勃发展,旅游业对环境和气候变化的影响被相关国际组织和社会各界所关注,旅游业能源需求与二氧化碳排放研究成为近5年来旅游研究领域的热点。国外研究综述表明,目前已识别旅游业能耗、排放的重点领域及结构;在旅游业能源消耗与二氧化碳排放的定量估算研究与情景分析方面形成初步结论。对不同类型旅游交通方式、住宿方式及旅游活动的单位能耗和排放强度等关键性参数取得一般性认识,并识别了明显的国别、地区及不同部门之间的差异。基本形成体系化的节能减排政策措施。基于国内外旅游业能源需求与二氧化碳排放的结构与途径、测算、预测与情景分析及节能减排对策与措施等方面对比研究,作者指出未来国内研究应重点加强旅游交通和住宿业等重点领域能源需求与排放的定量实证研究,加强旅游业能源需求与排放的预测分析和情景研究,加快推进旅游业气候政策研究,切实提高旅游业应对气候变化和节能减排的研究水平,提高政策措施针对性和可操作性,以期为我国旅游业节能减排、应对气候变化提供科学依据。     

关于“艾斯特”定义的几点探讨——基于逻辑学视角

文章介绍了"艾斯特"定义从德语国家起源并传播至国内的过程,以逻辑学作为工具对其进行分析,指出因其在表述中包含隐喻而不是真实定义,可以将其认定为名义定义。其学术价值在于界定一个新的认知对象。对当前关于"旅游"定义的属概念进行分析后发现,这些定义并非是关于同一个概念的定义;应科学地对不同的定义进行比较和分析。关于"旅游现象"的不同定义未必相互矛盾。正确的定义对于指导旅游发展的实践工作、引领旅游学术研究均具有其独特的作用。当前关于"艾斯特"定义的部分观点有失偏颇,它并不是一个循环定义,不应为当前存在的一些问题负责。在新的历史环境下,应坚持在将其作为一个语词定义的前提下认识其与新的社会事实之间的冲突和矛盾,对"艾斯特"定义的学习和研究还应该在争论中继续深入。     

Local opinions on trophy hunting in Kyrgyzstan

As traditional international trophy hunting destinations are becoming less accessible due to hunting restrictions and regulations, new destinations are entering the scene, such as the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, located in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan has grown to be one of the top destinations for international trophy hunting of argali Ovis ammon and ibex Capra sibirica, both of which are in danger of extinction. Empirically, the article draws on a case study from the largest region in Kyrgyzstan, At-Bashy, and 395 questionnaires with local inhabitants from 5 villages, and 1 interview with an international trophy hunting tour operator. In this article, the impacts of trophy hunting as a tourism practice in a rural context is discussed in terms of its sustainability and through the opinions of the local inhabitants. In sum, the negative impacts of trophy hunting in At-Bashy seem to overrule the positive ones, and in its current form it is not sustainable. The local inhabitants report about a decrease in argali and ibex during the last years; they receive basically no economic benefits from hunting tourism; and not surprisingly, 70% of the population rejects the further development of the industry in its current shape.     

基于旅游体验视角的旅游产业价值链分析

由于产业链的概念不清与旅游定义不明确,旅游产业的边界也因此十分模糊。本文从旅游体验是旅游现象的硬核的视角出发,根据新兴产业的模块化特征,围绕旅游体验的生产与服务供给,分析旅游产业价值链的结构与特点,并据此分析旅游产业的边界及其划分意义。     

Asia Pacific Tourism Trends: Is the Future Ours to See?

This paper explores current and emerging tourism trends in the Asia Pacific region via content analysis of industry publications and subsequent review of related academic literature. Experience economy and activity-oriented travel lead the development of the sector in the region and impact other trends. Economic growth, favourable political environment and improved infrastructure have sustained continual growth in visitor numbers from long-haul and intra-regional markets. However, the profile of travellers and their interests are increasingly diverse. Additionally, technology has been playing a significant role in hospitality and tourism industries, while human resources remain one of the biggest challenges in the region. Despite the huge increase in academic literature on sustainability, the industry has not appeared to be engaged with the subject. A number of knowledge gaps are identified for future research to better understand tourism development in the Asia Pacific region.