Since long time ago, Indonesia has been famous for its amazing natural charm. In 2019, Indonesia was ranked first in 130 countries at the 2019 Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) awards. Previously, Indonesia was ranked 6 in 2015, ranked 4 in 2016, ranked 3 in 2017, and ranked 2 in 2018.
Tourism destinations and investment; encouraging the halal tourism sector to be a major factor in foreign exchange earnings, employment, and business and infrastructure development. Tourism is also one of the biggest and fastest growing sectors compared to other sectors.
World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC, 2018) said the tourism sector has a positive contribution to the global economy. There are three main points that impact tourism on the global economy, including:
1. The travel & tourism sector accounts for 10.40% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
2. Absorbs 313 million jobs or 9.9% of total employment.
3. Encouraging global economic growth by 4.60%. This growth outpaced other sectors for 7 years in a row.
Based on this, it is seen that the tourism sector globally contributes to macro variables such as GDP, economic growth, and reducing unemployment. The development of tourism and travel globally is inseparable from the ease of access to information and transportation in visits by tourists, both foreign and domestic.
One potential market that is predicted to increase from year to year is the visit of Muslim tourists. This is as mentioned in the 2018 GMTI Report, that the Muslim tourist market share is growing fast, even predicted to increase USD 220 billion in 2020 and is expected to increase USD 80 billion to USD 300 billion in 2026.
According to the GMTI report (2018), there are seven factors that cause the rapid growth of the global halal tourism sector, including: Muslim population growth, growth in middle income / disposable income Muslims, millennial Muslim population populations, increased access to travel information, increased travel service provider that accommodates Muslim worship needs (Muslim-friendly), Ramadan travel, and travel businesses.
The above factors encourage countries in the world to slowly begin to focus on the development of halal tourism. The development according to GMTI (2018) needs to be focused on four main things, namely easy access, communication, environment, and services.
The halal tourism industry cannot be separated from its supporting industries, or in this case included as a series of entry points. These entry points form a halal tourism value chain consisting of tourism destinations, transportation equipment, hotels and accommodation, restaurants and cafes, as well as travel and tours.
The tourism industry has interrelated relationships with many industries, both main and supporting. This justifies the magnitude of the multiplier effect of the development of the tourism sector on the economy. Especially in halal tourism, the related industry is certainly a halal, real and financial sector. This simultaneous relationship can make a significant contribution to the development of the Islamic economy in Indonesia. (*)
Source: Indonesian Sharia Economic Master Plan 2019-2024
