The Halal Times

Global Halal, Islamic Finance News At Your Fingertips

Main navigation

Thailand

Pattaya, Thailand, Getting Ready To Embrace Muslim Tourists

By Leave a Comment

halal-tourism-in-pattaya-thailand

Pattaya, Thailand:- Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration in Thailand aims to promote Pattaya as a Halal food destination to attract more Muslim tourists from ASEAN and other Muslim countries.

DASTA’s Office of Designated Area 3 (Pattaya City and Vicinity) acting managing director, Thiti Chantaengphol, said DASTA will cooperate with the Nern Plub Wan community in Nong Prue municipality to develop the community into a centre of halal food suppliers for the Pattaya area.

“We aim to tap visitors from ASEAN and the Middle East, especially  Indonesians,” he said.

According to Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ Department of Tourism data, 658,129 travellers from the Middle East visited Thailand, last year, a 2.20% of overall market share, while 469,226 Indonesian tourists traveled to the kingdom, a 1.57% market share.

“Pattaya has been a popular destination for Muslim travelers and we will focus on expanding the Nong Prue community to lead in the supply of ingredients and the training in Islamic cooking methods including the food procurement process, transportation and food packaging,” the DASTA executive said.

The organisation will work with Chonburi’s Islamic Committee of Thailand to be considered for certification of Halal food, he added.

In addition, DASTA will work with the Thai Hotel Association, Eastern Chapter, to encourage 40 hotels in Pattaya to learn the correct processing and cooking methods for Halal food.

Thailand ranked second place in the top 10 non-OIC destinations of the MasterCard–Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) conducted in 2016.

The index also cited that Malaysia and Singapore retained their positions as top destinations for the Muslim travel market, in OIC and non-OIC categories. (There are 57 member nations of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.) The overall study covered 130 destinations a mix of OIC and non-OIC nations.

In 2015, Muslim travel represented 117 million trips, close to 10% of the entire travel market. This is forecasted to grow to 168 million visitors by 2020, equal to 11% of the market segment with a market value projected to exceed USD200 billion.

Asia and Europe are the two top regions in the world attracting Muslim visitors accounting for 87% of the entire market, it said.

Thailand Gets First Halal Hotel

By Leave a Comment

first-halal-hotel-in-thailandBangkok: – RECOGNISING the immense potential of a market of 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, the new 242-room Al Meroz Hotel, which soft-opened in Bangkok’s predominantly Muslim enclave of Ramkhamhaeng last November, has initiated efforts to establish its presence at this year’s ITB Berlin to get travel agents in Europe acquainted with Thailand’s first halal property.

“Our target markets are Muslims living in France, Germany and Scandinavia – European countries with significant Muslim communities – as well as Austria and Eastern European countries like Serbia,” said Sanya Saengboon, managing director & general manager of Al Meroz Hotel.

He said that despite the impressive growth figures involved with the lucrative Muslim travel market, European travel agents had yet to show an eagerness for this niche sector. “I expect Europe’s Muslim outbound market to grow, especially to South-east Asia, as the region is still perceived as an exotic destination,” he added.

The attention on Europe’s Islamic population is also part of the four-star property’s strategy to diversify its current Muslim market sources of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and domestic travellers from Southern Thailand, Sanya told TTG Asia. Muslim guests currently make up 50 per cent of the hotel’s clientele.

Apart from ITB Berlin, Al Meroz Hotel will also be attending global travel trade shows such as the Arabian Travel Market and World Travel Market this year. Plans to conduct roadshows to the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are in the pipeline as well.

The hotel is certified as a Muslim-friendly hospitality provider by the UAE’s Gulf Halal Center. It offers halal restaurants, a women-only floor, separate prayer rooms and a rooftop swimming pool open at different timings for male and female guests. A copy of the Quran, qibla (direction to Mecca), prayer times and mat are also available in the rooms and suites.

Owned by the Thai-Muslim TS Family Group, the halal-friendly environment is part of Al Meroz Hotel’s values and not simply a business decision, said Sanya. A dry hotel is as lively as any other, he insisted, when questioned on the hotel’s alcohol-free policy.

And despite its halal-friendly label, Al Meroz Hotel is able to cater to non-Muslims as well. “We have a good mix of corporate and leisure tourists from Thailand and overseas. Our first few guests are from the non-Muslim Western world and we had many non-Muslim groups from China during the (recent) Lunar New Year period (in February),” commented Sanya.

A grand opening for Al Meroz Hotel has been scheduled for July 2016.

Originally published on www.ttgasia.com

Thai Designers Embark On Muslim Fashion

By Leave a Comment

muslim-fashion-in-thailand

After halal food and halal travel, the next huge untapped market within the Islamic economy has caught Thailand’s attention: Muslim designer fashion.
Muslim apparel production is not new to Thailand – there are over 200 Muslim dressmaking groups in the country with more than 100,000 members mainly in the southern border provinces, including batik dressmakers, and those who make Kaffiyeh, or Arab headdresses for men, and hijabs, the head scarves for women, according to the Thailand Textile Institute. Designer brands engaging in Muslim fashion, however, have been rare so far.
This has changed with entrepreneurial designers who particularly focus on haute couture for the affluent markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, as well as for tourists from this region who come to Thailand and indulge in upscale shopping. Among those Thai fashion boutiques that are developing apparel for the Muslim market are established fashion boutiques such as Tube Gallery, Tango, Theatre and [email protected] With their distinctive fashion sense, they combine traditional Asian styles with Muslim preferences such as high-quality fabrics in loose dresses with glittery handcrafting and embroidery with a fine attention to detail, mainly in darker colours including black, dark blue and purple, sometimes also mixed with gold threads and exotic skins.
Tube Gallery, a fashion house founded in 1999 and based in Bangkok, after embarking on Muslim fashion some time ago, has since been stocked by leading fashion stores in GCC countries, including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Tango, for its part, last year opened a franchise boutique in Hili Mall in Al Ain, UAE. Its collection includes hand-embroidered clothes and a variety of accessories such as snake-leather handbags and bespoke footwear, all highly exclusive, as well as modest, but fashionable clothing.
Theatre, while not (yet) present in the Middle East, sees its high-quality loose dresses, although not particularly designed for the Muslim market, highly acknowledged by buyers from the GCC at its posh shop in Bangkok’s Siam Center. The brand is one of the most renowned in Thailand’s fashion scene and active since 25 years.
[email protected] features halal fashion that is produced in Thailand’s Muslim south and has been introduced by the Thailand Textile Institute (THTI). According to THTI executive director Suttinee Poopaka, the products are meant for Muslim markets in Southeast Asia, namely Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as the Middle East, and should open new opportunities for fashion entrepreneurs throughout Southeast Asia. The THTI also runs a well-frequented online shop.
Going by the numbers, the Muslim fashion market is certainly worth tapping into. In 2014, the Islamic fashion sector reached expenditure of around $230bn globally, constituting 11% of the worldwide fashion market, as per the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2015 report by Thomson Reuters. And the sector is projected to be worth $327bn by 2020, indicating impressive growth potential for both mainstream apparel makers and fashion designers. Among the established global clothing brands, labels such as Mango, Zara, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger or Uniqlo all have started experimenting with Muslim fashion, presenting “Ramadan Collections” offering clothing lines specially themed for this holiday, as well as other Muslim fashion items, whereby the emphasis on Ramadan comes from its growing status as a shopping season among Muslim communities. Even Swedish brand H&M last September featured a Muslim model donning a hijab in one of its video ads.
For Thailand, this new interest in Islamic fashion has been recognised as a big opportunity. The Thai Textile Institute last year even invited top designers from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to design a new look for Muslim fashion under a programme aimed at pushing the textile and fashion industry in the country to the next level.

Halal Tourism Gets Wider Push In Southeast Asia

By Leave a Comment

Southeast-Asia-halal-travel-marketAS THE Muslim travel market becomes a growing force worldwide, ASEAN countries are developing new strategic directions in a bid to wrestle a bigger piece of the lucrative halal tourism pie.
This fast-growing sector is projected to grow to 150 million visitors comprising 11 per cent of the global travel economy with an expenditure of US$200 billion by 2020, according to a 2015 study by Singapore-based CrescentRating.
Halal tourism is being recognised as “an opportunity market” for the Philippines, as its sizable Muslim population as well as increasing visitor arrivals from the Middle East, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in recent years place it in a good position to attract more Muslim travellers, said Arturo P Boncato Jr, assistant secretary, tourism regulation, coordination and resource generation, at the Philippine Department of Tourism (DoT).
The DoT has joined hands with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos to launch the Philippines Halal Tourism Project last year to improve halal facilities in the country, according to Boncato. “We are targeting at least 50 halal certified establishments in the four major regions (Manila, Cebu, Boracay and Davao) in time for Madrid Fusion Manila in April,” he commented.
Similarly, Indonesia is positioning Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) as a Muslim-friendly destination, after the Muslim-majority island was recognised as the world’s top halal tourism and honeymoon destination at the 2015 World Halal Travel Summit in Dubai.
Indonesia minister of tourism Arief Yahya said: “The awards will sharpen Lombok’s position…especially in (attracting) travellers from the Middle East and other Muslim countries.” Aceh and West Sumatra will be touted as a role model for Muslim-friendly destinations in Indonesia.
The move will expand Lombok’s visitor source markets to Muslim travellers, commented Awan Aswinabawa, advisor to the Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies NTB chapter.
“We have been getting inquiries from travellers from the neighbouring countries as well as the growing domestic market whether we have halal facilities such as restaurants and hotels,” he said. “Lombok naturally has Muslim-friendly products although not all are certified halal, so we just need to improve and highlight what we have.”

Furthermore, a halal branding will also distinguish Lombok from neighbouring Bali’s Hindu-

influenced culture or East Nusa Tenggara’s Christian-dominated culture, he opined.
Hasiyanna Ashadi, president director of Marintur Indonesia, said: “It is up to the destination how far they want to apply the label, but as a tour operator, we welcome more halal facilities to widen the choices for travellers. Even Aceh, whose rule is based on the Syariah law, has eased some of the rules for non-Muslim travellers.”
Awan, however, reminded the government to balance the halal branding and not intimidate the other markets, which have been enjoying Bali. “We do not want (non-halal) markets to think that we limit ourselves to the Muslim travellers only and apply rigid (Syariah law) in the destination,” he said.
Within South-east Asia, with the exception of Myanmar and Laos, all other countries already have their own halal certification and logo, stated Nirwan Noh, undersecretary for industry development at Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

Thomson Reuters launches Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Agribusiness Index

By Leave a Comment

agribusiness-indexKUALA LUMPUR: Thomson Reuters today announced the launch of its Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Islamic Agribusiness Index, covering 30 Shariah-compliant companies in the Asia-Pacific region with revenues derived directly from agricultural products.

The Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Agribusiness Index is the first index of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region. It will be tracked by the world’s first agriculture-related Islamic exchange-traded fund (ETF) provided by Malaysia’s i-VCAP Management Sdn Bhd, offering investors exposure to the index, said Thomson Reuters in a statement today.

The ETF is launched today and is named MyETF Thomson Reuters Asia Pacific ex-Japan Islamic Agribusiness.

The newly-launched ETF will offer investors exposure to the performance of the index and is the first agricultural-related Islamic ETF available globally and the first Islamic sector ETF available in the region, adding to ETFs worth US$2 billion (RM8.71 billion) based on Thomson Reuters indices globally.

The Index combines Thomson Reuters’ transparent rules-based methodology with IdealRatings‘ expertise and research-based approach to Shariah-compliant screening.

In addition, the index uses Thomson Reuters Business Classification (TRBC) to select companies engaged in upstream agricultural activities. TRBC has five levels of classification enabling a more accurate and granular selection of companies.

This allows Thomson Reuters to systematically include industries and business activities that derive revenue from agricultural produce, such as dairy producers or fertiliser, while excluding activities related to agricultural product manufacturing, which are not considered to be part of the agribusiness sector, it explained.

Thomson Reuters said that it has been at the heart of Islamic finance for over 30 years, offering innovative Shariah-compliant investment and trading solutions for financial professionals. Its unrivalled data and content sets have helped investors make better decision faster.

“Thomson Reuters is delighted to add the Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Agribusiness Index to our suite of Islamic indices,” said Thomson Reuters head of indices Stephan Flagel.

“The index provides rules-based, liquid and transparent exposure to companies within the fast growing Asian Agribusiness sector. Bringing the efficiency and transparency expected in advanced financial markets to the rapidly growing Islamic finance industry requires the provision of deep and reliable market indicators, benchmarks and terms and conditions,” he added.

The Thomson Reuters Islamic Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Agribusiness Index is calculated in real time and will be available through Thomson Reuters Eikon. Thomson Reuters is a trusted, global provider of indices and index services, calculating over 10,000 different equity, fixed income and commodity indices.

Originally published on www.theedgemarkets.com

Thai PM Counts On Halal Foods To Boost Exports

By Leave a Comment

thai-halalBangkok- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged the development of Thai halal food products to help boost exports.  The collaboration of relevant parties in forming the Thailand Halal Assembly reflected that Thailand had the potential to develop its halal food products to meet strict international standards, the premier said at the opening of the assembly at Centara Grand at CentralWorld Hotel in Bangkok on Monday.

“Halal food exports can help stimulate the economy when shipments of other sectors are facing fierce competition in global markets”, he said. Trade and investment should focus on the unique manufacturing processes of products, including food items, to serve Muslims, the prime minister said,  He further added that there are some 300 million people in the Asean Economic region ready to be served Halal food in 2015. The manufacturing processes would have to meet religious and scientific standards to do so. Technologies and innovations should also be applied to further develop such products, he said.

Gen Prayut hoped that the halal food industry could contribute to the gowth of its national income and help strengthen Thailand’s status as a major global food producer. Assoc Prof Winai Dahlan, director of Chulalongkorn University’s Halal Science Centre, said on the same occasion that Thailand exported halal products worth more than US$5 billion to 57 Islamic countries annually, and was the world’s fifth largest halal product exporter.

Originally published on www.bangkokpost.com

First Thailand Halal Assembly To Help Boost Trade, Travel With Islamic World

By Leave a Comment

Thailand_Halal_AssemblyBANGKOK – An estimated 5,000 delegates are expected to meet in Bangkok between 28 – 30 December for the first “Thailand Halal Assembly 2014″ to be held at the Bangkok Convention Centre, Centara Grand Hotel at CentralWorld.
 
Organised jointly by the Halal Science Centre of Chulalongkorn University, the Central Islamic Council of Thailand and Halal Standard Institute of Thailand, the event is designed to help upgrade the standards of halal products and services being made in Thailand to cater to the rapidly growing Islamic market, both within Asia and worldwide. Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-Ocha will deliver the opening speech.
 
The core objective is the launch of Thailand Diamond Halal, a brand concept under which all halal products and services sourced in Thailand will be marketed and exported. One session at the conference will be devoted specifically to Halal Tourism and Hospitality and Halal Medical Tourism.
 
The Royal Thai Government has given strong backing to the event because of the benefits accruing to regional ASEAN socio-cultural and economic integration. After the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community plan takes effect, the roughly 650 million population of the 10 ASEAN countries will comprise 46% of Muslims. This is a huge market waiting to be tapped by the Thai-Muslim community.
 
According to Associate Professor Dr Winai Dahlan, Founding Director of the Halal Science Centre, Chulalongkorn University, “We have invited senior executives from all over the world, including the Organisation of Islamic Countries, to share their experiences and knowledge, and become better acquainted with more than 120,000 Thai-made halal products and services, which will now be known as Thailand Diamond Halal.”
 
Dr Pakorn Piyakorn, Director, Halal Standards Institute of Thailand added, “There are about six million Muslims in Thailand, helping build a strong Thailand. By upgrading and certifying our standards, by next year these products and services will become much better known worldwide.”
 
In addition to the Thailand Halal Expo 2014, which has attracted about 200 exhibitors, the event will include scientific conferences and workshops to help participants and delegates share knowledge on advances in other Islamic countries. Conference delegates and trade visitors will be coming from Muslim-minority countries; such as, South Africa, India, Russia, the UK, Singapore and New Zealand.
 
Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Thawatchai Arunyik said, “We would like to welcome all delegates to this important assembly. It will a very important contribution towards ASEAN integration, boost intra-regional travel and help Thailand attract more visitors from the Islamic world, covering leisure, business travel and MICE.”
 
Thailand is projecting strong growth in visitors from Muslim countries, especially Indonesia and Malaysia, after the ASEAN Economic Community takes effect. Visitors from the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait already comprise the highest spending category of visitors to Thailand. They also play a major role in helping to fill up hotel rooms in the “Green Season”, the monsoon months when visitors from the traditional markets of Europe and North America experience a slight dip.
Originally published on www.traveldailynews.asia

Thailand: SBPAC To Further Extend Halal Market

By Leave a Comment

halal marketYALA, THAILAND – The Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC) aims to boost the economy in the southern border provinces by opening new Halal marketplaces both inside and outside of Thailand.

The SBPAC Secretary General Phanu Uthairat has said that the SBPAC is planning three methods to stimulate the economy in the southern border provinces.

The plans include the ‘Good Stuff from The South’ product exposition, which aims to distribute products from the southern-border provinces to both local and international customers while incorporating the local identities into the products and improving the packaging.

The second plan is the improvement of the product distribution channel. The SBAPC now provides new product ordering channel through the 1880 hotline, the SBPAC website, and the Thailand Post website.

The third plan is the promotion for local entrepreneurs to adjust the packaging of their products as a new-year gift basket to sell during the holiday season under the slogan “easy buy, instant order, receive both goods and merit”.

The SBPAC Secretary General said that previously, the SBPAC has carried out its exposition under the name ‘Good Stuff from The South’ four times in Thailand, two times abroad, and either times with the assistance of other agencies.

Statistics in 2014 revealed a 87.4 percent increase in customer’s order and 63.7 percent increase in revenue when compared to 2013.

He said that the SBPAC is now working with the Thailand Post to put products from the southern-border provinces on sale at 15 post offices in 7 southern provinces, as well as improving the quality of Halal products in order to receive the certificate from the authorities.

The SBPAC is also creating new retailing channels, such as the online marketplace, the post delivery, and the Halal Street activities, said the SBPAC Secretary General.
Originally published on www.thainews.prd.go.th

Thailand Hosts Halal Expo In Majority-Muslim Provinces

By Leave a Comment

patani-halal-trade-showPatani, Thailand — Thailand being one of the largest manufacturer of halal processed foods, is currently hosting a Halal trade show in Patani, the home to mostly Muslim population in its southern provinces.

On Friday evening, in front of Omthong Apartments, Mr. Witaya Panichpong, the Governor of Pattani, presided over the opening ceremony of the Five Southern Border Provinces Halal Expo 2014, of Thailand. A lot of people both Thais and foreigners including entrepreneurs from Malaysia, Singapore and other countries joined the event.

Ms. Supawadee Choksakulnimit, Director of the Federation of Thai Industries of Pattani, said that this expo is a collaboration between the Federation and the Halal Production and Business Promotion Association of the Southern Provinces.

The purpose of the expo is to promote and support Halal business in the southern provinces, since more than eighty percent of the local people are Muslims, and there are plenty of vegetables, fruit, seafood and livestock to comprise production ingredients. At the expo, there were exhibitions that promote Halal, Halal food and products for sale, Halal cultural shows on stage, and eating contests.

Saturday, September 20th, the second day of the expo, was a day for trade offered business matching opportunities  that have drawn in more than forty Thai and foreign entrepreneurs.

Originally published on thainews.prd.go.th

Training Course Held For Phuket’s Halal Food Businesses

By Leave a Comment

phuketPhuket, Thailand – a A training course was held for Halal food operators in Phuket’s tourism industry at the Boat Lagoon Resort on Monday September 8th 2014. PPAO Chief Executive – Paiboon Upattising presided over the launch, and was accompanied by his Deputy – Soratham Jinda, PPAO Advisor – Jeerasak Thortip, the Chairman of the Phuket Islamic Commission – Komol Dumlak, PPAO officials, and guests.

The training course for the Halal food businesses focused on Examination and Certification for International Halal Standards and was participated by 100 staff from the local Halal food operators. The course was led by Chairman of Samut Prakarn Islamic Commission – Paisal Promyong.

Organized by PPAO in collaboration with the Phuket Islamic Committee, the training course aimed to increase knowledge and understanding of the correct procedures for preparing Halal food. Along with increasing the potential for a career or employment within the Halal food sector, the course also raised local Halal food standards so that they are accepted internationally. The training is part of PPAO’s policy of preparing Phuket for visits by Muslim tourists whose number is expected to increase in the near future.
According to Mr Jeerasak, Halal food has to be prepared according to rules prescribed by Islam. Although meant for Muslims, Halal is also fit for consumption by people from other faiths. Processed Halal food figures are important in the export sector and it is therefore imperative that business operators know how to prepare their products properly. By following strict regulations the products receive Halal endorsement.

Mr Paiboon added that the participants have been selected by the Infinite to have the chance to learn and they must therefore have the faith, an act that will help them along on the path to success. Phuket has already paved its way for becoming the regional hub for the Halal food industry by organizing Phuket Andaman Halal Expo which has received international acclaim. However, the Chief Executive said there is a lot of work to be done at community level to promote Phuket’s Halal food industry. He urged participants to do their best to help make Phuket a Halal City.

Halal is the creation of Allah in the form of clean and blessed food. It needs to be prepared with utmost care and consideration, concluded the Chief Executive.

Originally Published on phuketnews.phuketindex.com

%d bloggers like this:
Skip to toolbar