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@Halal | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER. 2019
Tourism
Terrifi
cally
Taiwan
Taiwan strives to win the biggest slice of the Muslim travel pie
with excellent food and facilities
T
Yunus Halal
Restaurant (above)
and Chang Beef
Noodle Shop.
HE 2017 Mastercard-Crescent
R at i n g G l o b a l Mu s l i m
Travel Index ranked Taiwan
sixth among non-mem-
ber countries of the Organization
for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in
terms of meeting the needs of Muslim travel-
lers. In 2018, the country jumped two places
to be fourth. It is safe to say that attracting
Muslim travellers is serious business in
Taiwan.
From food manufacturing to halal cer-
tification, it is clear that Taiwan is going
all out in creating a Muslim-friendly travel
environment as part of the government’s New
Southbound Policy. Noticing the potential
for development and expansion, the Taiwan
External Trade Development Council
(TAITRA), recently established the Halal
Centre in April 2017 which works closely with
the local certifi cation bodies. They work hand
in hand with the Tourism Bureau and Chinese
Muslim Association’s eff orts in enhancing the
destination for Muslim travellers.
INCREASED AVAILABILITY OF HALAL
FOOD AND PRAYER FACILITIES
In a Muslim minority country where Muslims
make up only 0.2 per cent, Taiwan is certainly
making its eff orts clearly visible to travellers.
It has been widely known from past articles
and in newspapers about the Muslim-friendly
hospitality the city of Taipei provides.
Tourists are able to see visible signs point-
ing to available prayer rooms in public areas.
The warm and welcoming signs reading
‘Musala’ scattered around the city makes
Muslim travellers particularly adore the
place. It is a heartening fact to see the eff orts
put in by the local people to understand our
requirements and even more telling of the
amount of work that has been put in to equip
for the public and educate industry players.
For a country that is still considered green
in venturing into Halal, Taiwan is determined
to dominate the market. Local eateries
like Chang
Halal Beef Noodles and Yunus
magazine banner-syam-2019-Sept.pdf
1
Halal Restaurant are getting their estab-
ISLAMIC GRANDEUR:
Th e Taipei Grand Mosque,
located in Da’an District,
Taipei City.
Signs pointing to prayer
rooms and wudu rooms
11/09/2019
10:56 AM
in public areas.
lishments halal-certifi ed and well-known
hotels like The Grand Hotel and Grand Palais
de Chine are following in its footsteps with
a dedicated halal menu for Muslim guests
and accreditation by CrescentRating.
GOING BEYOND DOMESTIC GROWTH
To date, Taiwan has more than 400 domestic
manufacturers with halal certifi cation. With
the increased interest in authentic halal vari-
ants of traditionally non-halal ingredients,
companies with a longstanding history like
KimLan which was founded in 1936 and
specialises in soy seasonings have obtained
halal certifi cation for 23 of its products in 2013.
Taiwan has embarked on a long-term plan
to create a halal-friendly environment for
both Muslim travellers and local businesses
to build relations with Muslim countries
globally. We hope more destinations follow in
their footsteps in attracting this fast-growing
market.