Developing tourism products in line with Islamic beliefs: some insights from Nabeul–Hammamet

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the interest of both the tourism industry and the academic world in Muslims as consumers with specific requirements has grown remarkably. Attracting Muslim tourists is considered a good business opportunity in an increasing number of Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Tunisia is one of the most important destinations for international tourism in the Middle East and North Africa. Despite being a Muslim-majority country, no significant effort has been made as yet to reach the growing demand for tourism products in line with Islamic beliefs. This study investigates the opinions of a group of 19 key informants in Nabeul–Hammamet concerning the possibility of developing such products. This research shows that tourism operators are becoming progressively more familiar with the global opening up to products designed for Muslim consumers. Opportunities offered by this segment have been recognised, and clear signs are emerging of a proactive attitude towards Muslim-oriented tourism as a differentiation tool.

KEYWORDS:

• Tourism
• Islam
• Tunisia
• halal tourism
• Nabeul
• Hammamet

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. In the coming decades, Islam will grow faster than any other major world religion. There are currently more than 1.5 billion Muslims, a number that is expected to reach 2.2 billion by 2030 (Pew Forum 2011, 2015).

2. In both North African countries, the situation was also worsened by the terrorist attack on European tourists in Djerba and the Moroccan–Spanish tensions surrounding the sovereignty of the island of Layla (Steiner 2010).

3. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (http://www.oic-oci.org/oicv3/)

4. It should be noted that the increasing numbers of Muslim tourists has the potential to be significant for non-Muslim countries too (Wan Sahida et al. 2011; World Halal Travel Summit 2015). Indeed, important efforts have also been made by non-Muslim countries to capture this market and exploit the economic opportunities offered by this booming segment (El-Gohary 2016; Hashim Kamali 2012).

5. Besides the French community – which became the most important in the 1930s, during the Protectorate – in Tunisia there also used to be significant Italian, Maltese and Jewish communities (El Houssi 2012). Still, after the Second World War, for instance, the Tunisian Jewish community represented almost 3% of the total population. The Jewish presence was concentrated in the main cities (Tunis, Sfax and Sousse), but smaller towns, such as Djerba and Nabeul, also had a relevant Jewish presence. For instance, in 1936, the Jewish population in Nabeul reached 1912 (out of a total of 8489 inhabitants) (Spector and Wigoder 2001; Petrucci 2011). These foreign communities rapidly disappeared after the independence.

6. The working conditions of low-skilled workers in Gulf countries can be extremely hard, especially for migrants, who constitute a large share of the labour force (Human Rights Watch 2014). For instance, in Saudi Arabia in 2015, migrant workers represented 80% of the labour force (CIA 2016). Exploitation and abuse of migrant workers have been reported by human rights organisations and the media, among others (Amnesty International 2016; Human Rights Watch 2015).