The East Asian country is making a strong push to attract Muslim tourists and visitors
According to latest statistics, the number of Muslim tourists to Korea has been steadily increasing by an average of 20 percent every year. Approximately 900,000 Muslim tourists visited Korea in 2015 compared with 750,000 the previous year, a small percentage of the total 12 million foreign visitors to Korea in 2015. Specifically, the arrival of Muslim tourists from Malaysia in Korea is estimated to reach 115,000 in 2016, which will be about 40% increase over 2015.
In order to keep boosting up the Muslim tourist numbers, Korean Tourism is working continuously to increase awareness of Islamic practices among Koreans and to create a friendlier environment for Muslim tourists during their stay in the country. This includes primarily providing more Halal-certified restaurants for Muslim tourists.
A Push Towards Halal Certification
As of to date, there are about 130 Muslim friendly restaurants including 14 Halal-certified eateries and the number is expected to grow in the years to come. Nevertheless, more Halal shops and marts are being opened where it gives more access for Muslim tourists to enjoy Halal meat and meals while in Korea.
Currently about 150 companies in Korea have received Halal certification for their food products, but the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Trade Corporation together with the Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs are working to increase that number, while also boosting the Halal exports. Recently, a cosmetic company where its products are being manufactured in Korea has been Halal-certified where it will be a great contribution to the Muslim community in Korea.
Prayer Infrastructure
Additionally there has also been an effort to create a praying infrastructure for visitors. Besides mosques, there are more praying facilities have been developed at popular tourist destinations such as Nami Island, Lotte World, COEX Mall, Incheon International Airport and also including the new K-Style Hub, a tourist information centre by Korea Tourism Organization in Seoul. Recently, a new multi-praying room has opened at Gimhae International Airport makes it more convenient for Muslim tourists when travelling in Korea. Overall, there are about 40 prayer rooms across the country and the number is expected to grow as well.
Digital Assistance
One of the tools that has developed to help the Muslim tourists is Halal Korea, a free English-language app that allows Muslim travellers to find nearby Halal and vegetarian restaurants, determine prayer times, the nearest mosques, and the direction of the Kaaba according to their current location. It even has a function for scanning barcodes in supermarkets to see if the products are Halal-certified or not. Other Korean Tourism initiatives include producing a restaurant guidebook for Muslim tourists, organising Halal food festivals, and creating educational programs for Koreans on Halal food and the needs of Muslim visitors.
