Halal-friendly tourism

Anything that does not fit elsewhere can be discussed here.

Moderators: DJKeefy, 4u Network

Post Reply
User avatar
HEPZIBAH
Luxor4u God
Luxor4u God
Posts: 12116
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2006 9:15 pm
Has thanked: 1600 times
Been thanked: 2601 times
Gender:
Contact:
United Kingdom

Halal-friendly tourism

Post by HEPZIBAH »

The other day, whilst channel hopping around the TV stations, I stumbled across a BBC repeat - Turkey with Simon Reeve. I missed the very beginning alas but will try to catch up on BBC iplayer.

Turkey, as with Egypt, has seen a great demise in much of its tourist trade in recent years. Some are trying to move with the times and make adaptations to attract a wider audience and it looks like it's becoming successful. They are moving towards making hotels more friendly to Muslim families, and in particular making a hotel holiday more comfortable and free for the Muslim women. One way this was being tackled was by providing female only swimming pools that women could go to. There was a clip which showed how one hotel had built a high wall across it's main pool allowing for bikinis one side and *burkinis the other. They had also made sure that the pool could not be overlooked from any of the rooms.
*The wearing of burkinis - a garment which modestly covers the whole body - is often forbidden to be worn in hotel pools.

'Along Turkey's famous Turquoise Coast, Simon has a taste of luxury at the country's most expensive hotel, but discovers an industry on its knees as war in Syria and deadly terror attacks keep millions of holidaymakers away. Only one sector is bucking the trend - halal-friendly tourism.'

There have been many comments on L4U over recent years about how Luxor needs to update its tourism provision - more entertainment etc, and I believe once someone suggested a casino would be an asset. Having seen the piece on
'halal-friendly tourism' I couldn't help but wonder if this may not be a good way for some of the Luxor hotels to go.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b ... ian-border


Image Experience is not what happens to you;
it is what you do with what happens to you.
-Aldous Huxley
User avatar
Dusak
Egyptian Pharaoh
Egyptian Pharaoh
Posts: 6190
Joined: Sun May 11, 2008 2:29 pm
Location: LUXOR
Has thanked: 3241 times
Been thanked: 3812 times
Gender:
Thailand

Re: Halal-friendly tourism

Post by Dusak »

Well I can only comment on the Etab hotel, a hotel that has increased its intake of Arab guests, especially Egyptians, over the last few years. The four friends that have stayed there every year for around ten years for four weeks, sometimes twice this in a year, before that ten years at the old Hilton in Karnak, have seen how easily such visitors can make a Europeans holiday a mystery, especially around and in the pool, mainly due to the lack of respect they show towards Europeans staying there. The food, breakfast, was suddenly changed to suit their tastes and pallets, not what was expected and enjoyed over the years by my friends, just ''normal'' breakfast fair to them, but food obviously not enjoyed by Arab folk. And, according to one friend, those Arab visitors were paying a lot less for the same than they were, OK, that can happen at any hotel depending on who you book through, but these were big differences, not just a few less pounds. Also they noted that when Asians were there, they seemed to have the red carpet rolled out for them, nothing was too much trouble. The hotel seemed more interested in the 'mass market' visitor. So for them visits to Egypt have ended, not just because of these changes at their favorite hotel, but because of the country in general. To my mind if you want to create a successful hotel, you need an even playing field for all guests. Building privacy walls and screened off areas is just another term for enforced segregation in my view. If you want that sort of holiday environment, then change the hotel into an exclusive Muslim only one, don't expect the foreign non Muslim to be happy with these changes and make certain that all holiday paraphernalia mentions this fact so they have the choice to stay there or not.
Life is your's to do with as you wish- do not let other's try to control it for you. Count Dusak- 1345.
newcastle
Egyptian God
Egyptian God
Posts: 8695
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 11:49 am
Has thanked: 1548 times
Been thanked: 5127 times
Contact:
Egypt

Re: Halal-friendly tourism

Post by newcastle »

" Due to the multidisciplinary scope of the subject matter, there exist confusions regarding ‘Halal tourism’, ‘Muslim-friendly’ and ‘Islamic tourism’ terms."

https://www.crescentrating.com/magazine ... urism.html

Presumably, here were talking about segregaton of sexes, restrictions or bans on alcohol etc.

In a muslim country like Egypt (or Turkey), the question of halal food goes without saying.But beyond that I suspect there's a rather different approach. The islamic-orientated regime in Turkey would probably encourage the concept of segregation of sexes - particularly in bathing areas - restrictions on alcohol etc whilst Egypt's more secular approach to tourism wouldn't.

In Hurghada there was a well-publicised opening of a strictly halal establishment in 2013 (Les Tres Rois). It didn't fare well and closed after a few months. In the mildly hedonistic atmosphere of Hurghada, no surprise there. In fact, there has been a policy in many hotels to forbid islamic swimwear. The issue was widely discussed on social media but one was left with the impression that keeping the khawaga happy was considered by hoteliers more important than pandering to islamic sensibilities

Would Luxor fare any better? I doubt it. There are obvious practical issues in having distinct areas and policies within one hotel and, if the Hurghada experiment is anything to go by, having a uniquely halal establishment may not be a commercial success.

Egypt didn't even feature as a muslim-friendly destination in the following article :

https://www.tripzilla.com/muslim-friend ... 2017/50952

Egyptians love the coast when it comes to vacations, as opposed to cultural destinations, and there are many resorts along the North coast and Red Sea frequented by Egyptians where the issues of islamic swimwear are not in point and where the occasional non-muslim guest might have to find their alcohol elsewhere.
User avatar
Yildez
Top Member
Top Member
Posts: 854
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:59 am
Location: Datca, Turkey
Has thanked: 2891 times
Been thanked: 495 times
Gender:
Turkey

Re: Halal-friendly tourism

Post by Yildez »

These hotels have been around in Turkey for some years now, and are extremely popular. However, they cater for domestic tourists in the main, plus visitors from neighboring Muslim countries - evidence of the higher living standards that many Turks are enjoying. Datca, where I live, also has a majority of Turkish tourists - you cant find a vacant room or apartment in July and August - and there have been suggestions in the last few years that an Islamic hotel might be built, though not so far.
User avatar
Adamantium
Member
Member
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:36 pm
Has thanked: 22 times
Been thanked: 36 times
Gender:
United Kingdom

Re: Halal-friendly tourism

Post by Adamantium »

What is the difference between a Christian chicken and a Muslim Chicken? A Christian chicken goes to heaven. A Muslim Chicken goes to Hal-Lal.

I found it interesting that Hotels such as the Etap are catering more to the Arab/Muslim tourist. If then a western couple reside there and they get a bit frisky by the swimming pool will this have them complain to the hotel on moral grounds or if a gay couple stay there not doing anything problematic but obviously together does the influx of Arab money then away the hotel if they are offended?
newcastle
Egyptian God
Egyptian God
Posts: 8695
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 11:49 am
Has thanked: 1548 times
Been thanked: 5127 times
Contact:
Egypt

Re: Halal-friendly tourism

Post by newcastle »

Adamantium wrote: I found it interesting that Hotels such as the Etap are catering more to the Arab/Muslim tourist. If then a western couple reside there and they get a bit frisky by the swimming pool will this have them complain to the hotel on moral grounds or if a gay couple stay there not doing anything problematic but obviously together does the influx of Arab money then away the hotel if they are offended?
It's not so much that they are catering sprecifically for the Arab/Muslim but that, with the dearth of western visitors, native visitors are more apparent than before.

All hotels I've been in have fouhl on the breakfast buffet...not exactly a typical western dish...whilst all rooms have an arrow stuck somewhere indicating the direction of Mecca.

As to frolicking around the pool, I've never noticed any inhibitions being exhibited. The Lotus still has its complement of blue-rinsed European walruses awaiting the attentions of the local studs although most of the clientele is Egyptian nowadays. Topless bathing has always been a bit of a no-no in Egyptian hotels. Otherwise pretty much anything else goes.

As for co-habiting males....not at all unusual. The fact that they might be sharing the same bed doesn't seem to faze hoteliers although if one of the couple is a foreigner and the other Egyptian they might encounter the same reaction as an unmarried straight couple without the requisite marriage papers. :stp

How an Egyptian hotel would react to an obviously gay couple. celebrating their honeymoon, and presenting their "marriage" papers,....one can only guess at :oops: :lol:
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post
  • Friendly Fire
    by drwho » » in Literary Corner
    1 Replies
    699 Views
    Last post by HEPZIBAH
  • Why banning halal slaughter good for animals, world.
    by DJKeefy » » in Politics and Religion
    1 Replies
    641 Views
    Last post by Teddyboy
  • Egypt's tourism authority promotes domestic tourism
    by DJKeefy » » in Know Egypt
    1 Replies
    792 Views
    Last post by newcastle
  • Chinese Tourism Growth & New Tourism Strategy
    by Hafiz » » in Know Egypt
    2 Replies
    841 Views
    Last post by Hafiz