Jakarta to host Global Islamic Tourism Forum

The capital Jakarta will host the first Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) International Forum on Islamic Tourism next month to develop sharia tourism among 57 OIC members.

The forum is set for June 2-3.

"This is concrete action from the tourism ministers of OIC members meeting in Banjul, Gambia, on Dec. 6, 2013, as we want to further develop sharia tourism in OIC countries," Tourism and Creative Economy Deputy Minister Sapta Nirwandar said in Jakarta on Monday as quoted by Antara news agency.

Sapta said sharia tourism was projected to continue to grow as Muslim populations were predicted to reach 2.2 billion - equal to 26.4 percent of the global population - by the end of 2030.

The Muslim population stood at 1.6 billion of a global population of 6.9 billion in 2012 .

"Through this forum, we want to strengthen sharia tourism’s position as one of keys to help support the global economy. We also want to promote sharia tourism destinations and products such as hotels, restaurants and spas," he said.

According to the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2012 research conducted by Thomson Reuters, Muslims spent US$1.088 billion on halal food, equal to 16.6 percent of worldwide food spending. The figure is projected to increase to $1.626 billion in 2018.

Meanwhile, in the tour and travel sector, Muslims around the world spent $137 billion on travel, excluding haj and minor haj, throughout 2012, or 12.5 percent of travel spending across the globe. This figure is predicted to rise to $181 billion by the end of 2018. (nfo)