May-June . 2021 | @ Halal
Cover Story
13
BY CAMILIA REZALI
Muslim-friendly market is the next China market
Muslim travel research expert certain Muslim market will blossom into the next ‘ China market ’
MALAYSIA is recognised as the world ’ s No 1 Muslim-friendly destination due to its top-notch facilities and unparalleled hospitality . Walk into most hotels , tourists can be rest assured of their essential needs as Muslims are taken care of . Rooms are marked with a qiblah sign , bathrooms are equipped with a bidet and water hose .
On top of that , obtaining praying essentials like sajjadah and women ’ s prayer garments are just a dial away from the reception . It ’ s prevalent for the hotel ’ s kitchen to produce and cater for halal food for its Muslim guests .
The Muslim Travel market in Malaysia itself is potentially huge . In reality , there is still room for local companies to use the present ecosystem in Malaysia . And one of the organisations best-positioned to expand the Muslim travel industry would be the Islamic Tourism Centre ( ITC ), Malaysia .
ITC aims to be the prime mover and a leader in positioning Malaysia as Islamic tourism and Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality hub of global standards and recognitions . The centre ensures every step for improvements are made carefully and thoroughly about detailed research on the tourism industry .
About that , looking up for research reports available produced by local research agencies would be a plus point .
Muslim travel market , from Pear ’ s perspective
Pear Anderson is a research firm registered under Pearson Consulting Sdn Bhd . They are known as experts in helping industry players distinguish features of segments within Muslim tourism through meticulous research , providing marketing strategies , welcoming potential partnerships , and offering training and consultation .
Given the Muslim Travel Market , Founder of Pear Anderson , Hannah Pearson said : “ I genuinely believe the Muslim market will be the next ‘ China market ’. The Chinese market is what everyone is going for . Everyone loves the Chinese market .
I realised there was a gap in the tourism market , and there was basically little research on the Muslim Travel market . So , I saw the opportunity to set up Pear Anderson , and I went for it .”
“ But to me , the Muslim market is much more interesting because it is geographically diverse .”
The pandemic has also partially contributed to people ’ s rising interest in the Muslim market , she added . Before this , in many parts of the world , the China market was very much depended on . But at the present time , many people are much keener towards the Muslim market due to its added values of clean , green and wholesome – in other words , the value of halalan toyyiban .
The business line
The founder initially started the business three years ago . The first year coming to Malaysia , Hannah was attached to a travelling agency .
She said : “ I realised there was a gap in the tourism market , and there was basically little research on the Muslim Travel market . So , I saw the opportunity to set up Pear Anderson , and I went for it .
“ We offer a few services here at Pear Anderson . One side is sales representation , where we have tourism businesses who want to increase their sales from Southeast Asia . The other side is the consulting side where I write reports for both industry players and tourism boards .”
The reports produced are divided into weekly free accounts , which are distributed and disseminated by subscription .
Two such Muslim travel reports by Pear Anderson were on ‘ Global Economic Impact of Muslim Tourism and Future Growth 2017-2020 ’ and ‘ How Online Ready are NTOs for Muslim Travellers in 2020 ?’
On Feb 28 , 2021 , Pear Anderson published a 27-page report on ‘ Malaysia Travel Industry Snapshot ’. Generally , the agency will have these sort of snapshots updated monthly and later on pulling the pieces together into a simplified industry research report . The concept of the report – outlining only key point results – corresponds to the preference of most people ; going for a fast read instead of going through the thick papers .
“ We share our reports with a wide range of people in the industry – from hotel groups to travel bloggers , airlines , tourism boards and more others ,” she stated .