butler , and they were kind enough to get me a female butler .”

Anis then highlighted that many luxury brands cater to the halal aspects of Muslim travellers . Still , the people must explore and look for them . She also acknowledged that it was important for Muslim travellers to converse about halal experiences with the brands . This could help the brands in understanding them better .

Influence of Muslim women travellers in tourism

Raudha , a strategic partnership & project lead at CrescentRating & HalalTrip , shared some insights regarding Mastercard- CrescentRating Muslim Women in Travel Report 2019 . The report examined the travel behaviours and consumption of Muslim women travellers .

“ Looking back at 2019 , we saw the growth of the general Muslim travel segment prepandemic , particularly , the Muslim woman travel segment was in a growth phase , and undeniably the pandemic has disrupted this growth ,” said Raudha .

In her sharing , she spoke on the behaviour , motivations , spending power , plans and travel partners of Muslim women travellers .

“ Out of 140 million Muslim visitors in 2018 , 50 per cent of them were woman visitors , so they have an estimated travel expenditure of US $ 80 billion ,” Raudha shared .

The figure showed the vast impact Muslim women travellers brought to the economy . Raudha also shared that the study confirmed that most women travellers exert considerable influence in trip planning , regardless of the group setting .

Women-centric sporting events

The founder of Malaysia Women Marathon , Loh , then shared that the brand had collaborated with Tourism Selangor for many years . This happened due to the participation of many international female runners in its events .

“ With regards to Malaysia Women Marathon , we have about five per cent of international travellers coming to our event . Yearly we have about 8,000 to 10,000 ,” shared Loh .

Loh said that the brand could grow thanks to the feedback it received from runners . The brand also invited various speakers to talk about women empowerment in sporting events . However , due to the pandemic , it had to organise its runs virtually . Loh said that even though it ’ s a virtual run , the brand received participation from Singapore and Japan .

She stated : “ I ’ m just going to encourage more women to come forward , participate and organise this kind of mass event . Don ’ t be afraid . There are equalities if we make them .”

Women ’ s safety in workplace

Emellia , founder and managing partner of Speak Up Malaysia , then spoke about women ’ s safety in the workplace .

The speaker highlighted that everyone has different boundaries . What seemed acceptable to one person might not be adequate to another .

“ So ultimately , when I talk about women ’ s safety in the workplace , I ’ m not just talking about physical safety , I ’ m talking about emotional safety and psychological safety as well .”

She then addressed the anti-harassment culture , saying : “ We have to remember that it is on each and every one of us to make sure that we do not engage in any behaviour that is abusive , offensive , insulting , humiliating or malicious .”

Safety myths for Muslim women travellers

Touching on safety , Sri , the country lead for Have Halal , Will Travel ( HHWT ) Indonesia , then debunked the safety myths regarding Muslim women travellers .

One of the myths was the permissibility of Muslim women to travel . Sri said there were two opinions regarding this issue .

The first one was the opinion held by scholars from the school of Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal which stated it was not permissible for women to travel in a journey of one day and one night without mahram ( husband or a male relative whom she is prohibited from marrying ).

The second opinion stated that it was permissible for women to travel . This was based on the deep examination of narrations in the science of hadith . She said that according to the opinion , if a woman traveller could fulfil the conditions that allow her to travel safely , then the prohibition is lifted .

Sri shared , Nadia Hanim , a Singaporean religious teacher , stated : “ Women travellers need to be cautious when travelling . It is up to the individual to choose which opinion they are comfortable with without dismissing the other .”

Ecotourism and digital tour

The founder of Tanah Aina , Shariffa , then shared her experience in the ecotourism industry . Tanah Aina managed to build four eco-resorts without comprising the natural landscape and received multiple international and national awards .

As an environmentalist , Shariffa said she needed to provide guests with a travel experience that showed respect to nature and did not contribute to its degradation .

“ Ecotourism is more than just travelling ; it is also a learning experience ,” said Shariffa .

Aside from the threat from human greed , she named the Covid-19 pandemic the most significant challenge in the industry . However , she believed that women were capable

Dr Rokhshad Tavakoli

Shariffa Sabrina

Emellia Shariff

Jane Rai

Karen Loh

Sri Anindiati Nursastri

Hannah Pearson

Anis Ramli

Raudha Zaini

of championing the ecotourism sector , and she was willing to share her experience .

Award-winning and Muslim-friendly tourist guide Rai also acknowledged the impact of the pandemic on tour guides . The situation then had urged her team to digitalise their approach .

Rai stated that virtual tourism has a space in the bigger picture of the tourism industry . The use of digital technology and virtual reality technology has helped her remain active and earn a small income .

“ It has been challenging , and we ’ re still working on it ,” said Rai .

She then took the forum participants for a virtual tour around Kuala Lumpur .

Rokhshad , a senior lecturer at Taylor ’ s University , then summed up the discussion by saying there was a need for an educational plan . She said the concern regarding nature preservation , harassment , and gender equality , not limited to the tourism industry , should be addressed in the education system .

The forum ended with a speech from Dato Dr Mohmed Razip Haji Hasan , Director General of ITC . In his closing remarks , he thanked the speakers and emphasised the importance of women participation in the tourism industry .

“ Thus , to uphold Malaysia ’ s position as the top destination for Muslim travellers , we believe women in the tourism workforce and women travellers play a key role . They must be given special attention by the stakeholders .

“ ITC has supported the roles of women at every opportunity in the industry and will continue to do so . We believe that the Islamic Tourism economy provides many opportunities for women to participate both as entrepreneurs and service providers ,” he said .