Dato ' Dr Mohmed Razip Haji Hasan |
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experienced the same scenario where people were eager to travel and look for more sophisticated holidays .
The decline of halal restaurants in Japan
Kaiji said after two years of the pandemic , most Muslim-friendly destinations in Japan slowly faded away as the domestic Muslim population in the country was very limited .
“ Some businesses stopped their Muslimfriendly operations because of the market shrinking . We have no customers , and people cannot have income from the Muslim travel segment . More than 50 per cent of Japanese restaurants stopped having halal menus or Muslim-friendly operations due to this pandemic .
“ Restaurants that could survive are the ones that are popular among non-Muslim Japanese customers . Their marketing and promotion are inclusive and strategic .
“ If the non-Muslim Japanese hear the word ‘ halal ’, they would think halal food is only for Muslims . So , those restaurants do not use the word ‘ halal ’. Instead , they promote their services to Muslims only in the Muslim media , not publicly ,” said Kaiji , sharing that this strategy would be the new face of Muslim-friendly tourism development in Japan .
Technology assists destinations in attracting visitors
Mohmed Razip believed that technology
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played a significant role in sustaining and promoting brands , despite the world ’ s transition from the pandemic to the endemic phase .
“ There was no other way then because we could not do things physically . We depended on technology . We had no choice previously , but we have more options now . It is one of the good things that we learned from the pandemic .
“ In the case of Malaysia , we work very closely with Tourism Malaysia , which has also doubled up the promotion and how to engage with stakeholders using technology . This is a pull and push factor .
“ While we ’ re inviting stakeholders to come forward using technology , we will encourage the stakeholders to do the same . It is a good move . You can reach a bigger audience than before ,” shared Mohmed Razip .
Guerrero said the utilisation of technology was inevitable as it is found everywhere nowadays .
He shared : “ Here in Dubai , you don ’ t need to scan your passport when you reach the airport . There will be a facial recognition system to do the process totally differently .”
“ Some travel destinations are using metaverse to promote their services . Some countries are going ahead with these types of disruptive initiatives . They are ahead of the game ; for example , they use metaverse and accept cryptos or bitcoins for hotel booking .”
Guerrero highlighted that technology changed almost everything , and it was good
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Dr Barbara Ruiz-Bejarano
Kaiji Wada
Tomás Guerrero
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for tourism . However , there would also be negative consequences for business travel and networking experience . Ruiz-Bejarano agreed with Guerrero but opined that the new experience would be more friendly to the planet .
Sustainability from the tourism perspective
According to Kaiji , nature and sustainability will be the new trends in Japanese tourism . He emphasised that the country would focus on the hybrid of technology and nature .
Agreeing with Kaiji , Mohmed Razip said : “ We need to balance the usage of technology and the need to protect the environment . We have to do things in a very sustainable way .”
“ The awareness of the people must be well developed .
“ If we fail to educate people on the need to preserve and conserve the environment , it will give us a different kind of atmosphere .
“ Apart from the guidelines and regulations , the most important thing is education . This education should not only be limited to the urban areas . You need to go to the rural areas and look after the rivers and waste management , etc .,” explained Mohmed Razip before highlighting the critical role of tourism in educating the public on environment preservation .
Ruiz-Bejarano added : “ Technology will play a role ( in sustainability ), but we also need to educate the people .”
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