KNEKS Gaet PPHI And Crescentrating Create Muslim Friendly Tourism Markets

Photo: Doc. Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy

JAKARTA - In order to accelerate the recovery rate of the Indonesian tourism industry and affiliate the Muslim-friendly travel market, Crescentrating and the Indonesian Halal Tourism Association (PPHI) signed a cooperation agreement. This cooperation program was launched at the head office of the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS) in Jakarta and attended by representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenparekraf RI), KNEKS, Bank Indonesia and Mastercard. Present at the occasion, Deputy for Tourism Products and Activity Implementation (Event) of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia Rizky Handayani appreciated the collaboration that was established to accelerate the recovery rate of the Muslim-friendly tourism industry in Indonesia. sustainable. "This cooperation program is in line with the goals of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia as a major player in Muslim-friendly tourism and increasing Muslim tourist visits to Indonesia," he said in an official statement, Saturday, October 15. The CEO of Crescentrating and Halaltrip, Fazal Bahardeen added, with the uniqueness and diversity of tourism industry products that Indonesia offers, he believes he can open up a number of Muslim-friendly tourism market opportunities and make them a driving machine for the economy. "Through this collaboration, we are committed to prioritizing sustainable growth in this sector in Indonesia while embracing various elements of society," he added. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Halal Tourism Association (PPHI) Riyanto Sofyan stated, to accelerate the pace of development of the tourism industry in Indonesia by visualizing Muslim-friendly tourism markets, we need to provide more value to the products and services offered, accompanied by a sustainable increase in quality, which is in accordance with the Muslim-friendly tourism atmosphere after the pandemic. "Thus, our collaboration with Crescentrating is in line with the 2022-2024 PPHI Strategic Initiation in providing global benchmarking, quality training programs, the best practice sharing, and global marketing networks," said Riyanto. Director of Halal Product Industry of the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance, Afdhal Aliasar, added that Indonesia's economic revival after the pandemic was supported by the tourism sector which was able to rise quickly. The potential for excellent Muslim-friendly tourism in Indonesia needs to be increased to anticipate an increase in the number of travel and visits of international Muslim tourists from various countries. "This readiness needs to be carried out in collaboration and the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS) fully supports this collaboration, one of which is through this MoU and cooperation in the future with all stakeholders of the tourism industry. As part of Indonesia's sharia economy development, KNEKS will continue to accelerate Indonesia's readiness to become the host who can provide the best service to Muslim visitors around the world," he explained. Based on data from the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia has increased drastically. In the May 2022 period, the institution recorded an increase in foreign tourists more than 18 times compared to the same period last year. The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia Sandiaga Uno predicts foreign tourists who come to Indonesia will reach 1.8 million to 3.6 million arrivals by the end of 2022. In the aspect of hotel room occupancy, Maulana Yusran, Secretary General of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, said that the hotel room occupancy increase was 7 percent in January to March 2022 compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, based on the Mastercard-Crescentrating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2022, the arrival of global Muslim tourists recorded the highest record in 2019, reaching 160 million. After passing the disruption in 2020 and 2021, the arrival of international Muslim tourists is predicted to reach 140 million in 2023 and will return to the pre-pandemic level of 160 million arrivals in 2024. In 2026, it is predicted that there will be 230 million global Muslim tourist arrivals with an estimated expenditure of 225 billion US Dollars. In the years before the pandemic, Indonesia recorded a stable growth in the arrival of international Muslim tourists. According to the Crescentrating estimate, there are 2.9 million international Muslim tourist arrivals to Indonesia. This figure represents 18 percent of the total arrivals of foreign tourists to Indonesia. Indonesia won its second position in the 2022 GMTI report, affirming its position as one of the best Muslim-friendly destinations in the world. Initial initiations in cooperation between Crescentrating and PPHI included organizing the Global Muslim-Friendly Tourism Summit 2023 in conjunction with the B2B/B2C Travel Fair, re-launching the Indonesia Muslim Travel Index (IMTI), launching Muslim-lifestyle Indonesia Awards, rating and accreditation programs for industry players and Muslim-friendly service providers, and launching platforms to interact with Muslim-friendly industry players in Indonesia.