136 Business Owners Join Halal Travel Certification Program
21 November 2016 08:24 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As many as 136 tourism business owners of the Indonesian Travel Partner Forum (FTPI) are participating in halal travel competence certification program held by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
“Halal-certified travel [agencies] are relatively new in Indonesia. There is only one travel [agency] at the FTPI who has passed the tests towards obtaining halal travel certification,” FTPI deputy chairman Budi Darmawan said Friday at the first FTPI Assembly in Bekasi.
According to him, 136 members of FTPI have been going through halal certification process since 2013.
Meanwhile, Redy Melanthon, Marketing Manager of SORS Travel Service, sees that halal travel business has been attracting many consumers as the business evolves to meet Muslim customers demand.
“The [number of ] consumers typically increases during Umrah [pilgrimage] season, i.e. in December and January on Umrah plus tourism programs,” he said.
According to him, tourists who join halal travel programs make up 15-20 percent of the annual Umrah pilgrimage quota.
“Most of them travel to Istanbul, Palestine, and other Muslim countries in the Middle East. Not only Muslims, non-Muslim tourists seeking out healthy food have often participated in halal travels,” he said.
ANTARA