Europe is hosting the first-ever international conference on halal tourism to look at how the industry can capitalise on one of the fastest growing sectors in the world.The Halal Tourism Conference, which is being held on 22 and 23 September 2014, will bring together the global travel industry to discuss ways of tapping into this niche market.
The event, which is being hosted in Andalucia, Spain, aims to equip delegates with market intelligence, industry forecasts and trends to understand how to market to the lucrative Muslim consumer and benefit commercially.
Organiser Tasneem Mahmood, from CMM, said the conference hopes to have attendance and representation from every region of the world from those currently active in halal tourism and countries looking for help to break into this sector.
She said: "This is a groundbreaking event for halal tourism which is directly reacting to current market trends and addressing the needs of the industry. It is the first time such a global event is being staged looking at halal tourism in detail".
According to CrescentRating, the halal tourism sector was worth $140 billion in 2013 representing around 13% of global travel expenditures. This figure is expected to reach $192 billion by 2020.
CrescentRating is the "Knowledge Partner" of the event. Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating will be speaking at the event on how the travel industry could benefit from the growth in this segment.
The two-day event hopes to attract tourism boards, tour agencies, tour operators, restaurants, media, hotels, airlines and suppliers to the travel sector. The event will also feature seminars from industry experts, workshops, networking sessions and an exhibition.
A series of workshops will provide with information on what the industry needs to prepare to make the destination attractive to the Muslim market by understanding its needs and expectations.
Guest speakers at the event include tourism ministers, halal institutions, marketing experts and academics. Partners for the event include Turkish Airlines, Granada Tourism Board, El Legado Andalusi, CrescentRating and the Halal Institute.
The Halal Tourism Conference 2014, hosted in partnership with tour operator Andalucian Routes, will take place from the 22nd to 23rd September 2014 at the Granada Conference and Exhibition Centre, Andalucia, Spain.
