Will Halal Tourism Grow in 2022?

Will Halal tourism boost in 2022? We tend to think so.  Why? There are quite a few reasons to believe that.  Hotel operators in various countries are upbeat over recovery in global Halal tourism. Based on evidence from different parts of the world that the Halal industry is preparing for a comeback.

Most travelers recognize that the COVID-19 will stay as an endemic in the foreseeable future. While countries have reintroduced some restrictions to contain the spread of the new coronavirus variant they have generally refrained from a broad lockdown.

Thailand has not seen major cancelations after the emergence of Omicron. According to a report published on Bloomberg, the country mulls resuming a quarantine-free travel program. Indonesia also seems to be upbeat about the arrivals of foreign and local tourists to Bali and other tourism spots. The room occupancy rates in Singapore and a few other countries are steadily but slowly increasing.

Let us examine briefly why we expect Halal tourism to grow in most parts of the world despite the recent surge in Omicron cases in different countries.

Why Halal Tourism is Expected to Grow in 2022?

There are quite a few reasons to be optimistic about the rise of Halal tourism in 2022 and beyond. It is possible that you may not agree with some of the following statements. This is totally fine.

• Many countries are reopening their tourism spots to fully vaccinated tourists.  Indonesia reopened the island of Bali to tourists from 19 countries last October.  Malaysia has also partially opened its tourism hot spots.
• The world seems to be exhausted due to lockdowns and other coronavirus-related restrictions. Now travelers want to break the barriers and visit places of their interest at all costs.
• Although, the coronavirus cases have been surging the new variant called Omicron is not that lethal. So people do not follow their health authorities’ instructions seriously. Rather they want to get out of their homes, even if to change their feelings and mood. Many Muslim millennials and Generation Z people tend to visit places of their interest. Georgia has become one of the most popular destinations so far for Arab tourists. Thailand is also offering a quarantine-free entry program for fully-vaccinated tourists.
• Some Muslim majority counties such as Indonesia, Malaysia have been attracting medical tourists from other Muslim countries. 
• Tourism authorities are taking precautionary measures to protect their guests during their visit to these destinations. Dubai started easing travel restrictions late last year. The Expo 2020 exhibition has been helping boost the city’s tourism industry.
• Receiving foreign tourists may still be difficult. However, many countries are depending on domestic tourists to help revive the industry

We may not see a full revival of Halal tourism in 2022 to the pre-pandemic levels. However, there are signs that this year Halal tourism destinations will start accepting domestic tourists at least.