Value Creation in Tourism: An Islamic Approach

Given the fast growth in the number of tourists and despite the great Muslim population worldwide (according to 2009 statistics, over 1.571 billion Muslims live in more than 100 countries around the world making up 23% of the total world population, and only about 154-200 million of Muslims (around 10-13%) are Shiite; Henderson, 2010), Muslims only share 10% of global tourism market. In addition, this share mainly goes to a limited number of countries such as Malaysia, Turkey, Egypt, etc (Din, 1989). However, estimations show that by 2100, Muslims will make up about 37% of total world population (Henderson, 2010). In other words, although Islam is considered a major tourism market globally, however, special values of Muslims – who have particular needs in their system of beliefs – have not been well defined in the tourism market. In addition, unfortunately, many western countries have dedicated a considerable portion of their foreign exchange income and their scientific studies to this area while Muslim countries have been performing poorly in defining their roles and this has led to distorted views about Islam and Islamic values in non-Muslim countries (Henderson, 2010). Therefore, it seems that by the time the present study is conducted, research on Islamic tourism is still in its infancy (Ala Hamarneh, 2011). The present theory attempts to present a framework on how to create value in a Islamic approach to tourism. This theory deals with all Muslims and supporters of Islam. Some questions in the area of Islamic tourism include the followings: Do Muslim countries have proper status in international tourism? Does the present status of tourism indicate that Muslims’ basic needs in this area have been met? How can Islam and tourism interact? Who is a Muslim tourist and what does he/she pursue? What does “value” mean to Muslim tourists and how can products become valuable to them? How can Islamic countries play major roles in tourism? What factors should be taken into account when dealing with value creation in international tourism with an Islamic approach? Why are Islamic countries not successful in the area of tourism?

Tourism; Value Creation; Islamic Tourism