Malaysia keen on remaining top Muslim-friendly holiday spot

The Tourism and Culture Ministry is open to suggestions on how to maintain Malaysia's position as the world's top Muslim-friendly holiday destination.

Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said a study by the Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy, Crescentrating, showed that Malaysia had enjoyed the accolade since 2011.

"We welcome suggestions or ideas that can help us maintain this position," he said, acknowledging that it would not be an easy task to do so given the competition from other countries which were also eyeing increased Muslim tourist arrivals.

He spoke at a press conference after opening the inaugural Joint Seminar on Islamic Tourism between Malaysia and Indonesia here today.

In his speech earlier, Mohamed Nazri pointed out that Malaysia was looking forward to some six million Muslim tourist arrivals this year, compared to 5.5 million in 2012. Up to September 2013, an estimated 4.3 million Muslim tourists visited Malaysia.

The minister told reporters that more restaurants in the country, including those operating in hotels, should strive to be halal-certified to make them more appealing to Muslim tourists.

"As Malaysians, we know that most of the restaurants serve halal food but tourists may not know this. That's why they have to put up the halal certificate," he said.

On the two-day seminar which ends tomorrow, Mohamed Nazri said Malaysia and Indonesia were keen to leverage on their many similarities to attract more Muslim visitors.

"Both countries are eyeing Muslim tourists. So, it's only logical for us to join our hands in wooing such tourists to Malaysia and vice-versa," he said.

Meanwhile, Crescentrating chief executive officer Fazal Bahardeen, who was present at the press conference, said the company ranked countries from the perspective of Muslim travellers in terms of how convenient they were for them to get halal food and access facilities, like a prayer room, while travelling.