Potentialities of Halal Tourism in India

Shafeeq ur Rahman

Indian is known for its ancient and religious heritage with the symbols of cultural
modernization. It is founding custodian of many dominant world’s religion like
Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jain. Islam doesn’t have the status of religious roots
like others but the third largest Muslim population in the World after Indonesia and
Pakistan reside here. Many sects of Muslim like Barelvi, Deobandi, Qadyani,
Naqshbandi, Sufism etc are started and developed their legacy and heritage at Indian soil.
Christianity is also among major religion in north eastern and southern states of India,
however, churches, western style houses and graveyard can be seen all over the country
due to missionary work during East India company and British rule. All these religion
have their own pilgrimage sites to visit and many fairs and festivals celebrated at
different occasion relating to the birth date of spiritual leaders and other miracles days.

Religious pluralism is a unique feature of Indian culture which strengthens its social,
political and economic fabrics. Beside these, religious tourism is an emerging sector in
India enhanced the philosophy of coexistence and mutual respect. Top destinations for
frequent domestic and foreign tourists belong to the religious or spiritual shrines.
Hinduism, religion of approximately 80 percent population, has the government
patronage through developing the new religious sites across the country. Muslim
architecture works and monuments during Mughal and other emperors are protected and
decorated time to time by government to maintain its status quo. Several tourist
organizers and agencies offer the tour packages to visit the temples and shrines of
religious spots in India for Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jain but Haj and Umara
are only offered packages for Muslim. Domestic tourism for Muslim sites like Jama
Masjid Delhi, Khuwaja Moinuddin Chisthi Ajmer, Haji Ali Mumbai, Imam Badas
Lucknow and others are highly unorganized and lacking of tourist infrastructure.
India’s performance in tourism sector has been quite impressive. During the period 2002
to 2009, India witnessed an increase in the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) from 2.38
million to 5.11 million. Due to global slowdown, terrorist activities, H1N1 influenza
pandemic, etc., growth rate in FTAs during 2009 fell by 3.3 per cent. The year witnessed
a contraction in global tourism by 4.3 per cent; the declaration in India was, therefore,
less than that of the scale of global slowdown. Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from
tourism increased from Rs. 15,064 crore in 2002 to Rs. 54,960 crore in 2009. The growth
rate in earnings in 2009 vis-à-vis 2008 was 8.3 per cent.

Tourism is motivated by business and religious purposes. Religious tourism has emerged
as a booming market in India. A study by the Delhi based National Council for Applied
Economic Research (NCAER) shows that of the 230 million tourist trips undertaken in
India; the largest proportion is made up of religious pilgrimages. Acknowledging its
importance, former Minister of tourism, Renuka Chowdhury, announced “I want to open
up unconventional avenues, like religious tourism, not in one part of India, but all over
the country.’’ Indeed progressive growth witnessed in last years in religious pilgrimage
and infrastructure has been developed for the same. But the lucrative opportunities in
keeping the consideration to Muslim needs are highly untapped for Halal tourism, which
is a new product in the tourism industry and widely known in Middle East, Malaysia,
Indonesia and Turkey.

There are more than 150 million Muslims in India, the third largest community
accommodating ten percent of total population in the world and constitutes
approximately 15 per cent of total population of country with larger youth ratio, spread
out in all states of India. There are more than 50 per cent Muslim population in twenty
districts, while 68 districts have more than 25 per cent Muslims. Beside the domestic
population, India hosted 1.11 million foreign tourists from Muslim countries in the year
2008 that indicates the potentialities of Halal tourism in India to attract overseas market.
Top countries break up may be found in given table 1:
Table 1:
Top ten Muslim Countries by
Tourist Arrivals in India
Country of
Nationality 2007 2008
Bangladesh 480240 541884
Malaysia 112741 115794
Pakistan 106283 85529
U.A.E. 32750 63502
Maldives 45787 54956
Oman 22284 34042
Afghanistan 23045 32438
Iran 33223 30149
Indonesia 17818 19609
Saudi
Arabia 16352 16983
Total
Muslim
Countries 936498 1043950
Total all
Countries 5081504 5282603
Percentage 18.42 19.76

Halal Tourism is an alternate product to include the Muslims, who avoid conventional
tourism due to religious constraints like co-enjoyment of women and men in beaches &
swimming pools in religious objectionable dresses, sharing of crockery in hotels and
restaurants where pork or wines are served and non availability of spaces and directions
of Kaba to perform routine prayers (Namaz). Apart from above mentioned reservation,
Muslim tourist can also be motivated to Islamic spiritual spots, monuments, birthplaces
of religious leaders and the places of Muslim arts and culture. It is pertinent to note that
Halal tourism is not an identical alien campaign to Muslim from other religious group but
it is based only on consumerism basis to increase Muslim participation in tourism. India
is an ideal destination to attract Muslim tourist all over the world especially from Middle
East, South East and other Muslim African countries.

India has the enough attraction for Halal lover tourist and offers the huge potentiality. Taj
Mahal among the Seven Wonders of the World, built at Agra by Mughal king Shajahan
in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz, is inscribed with verses from the Koran in
Arabic and other important monuments having the Islamic backgrounds are the beautiful
places for foreign tourist.

Halal Indian Tourism may be classified under four following broad categories in India

1) Haj & Umara

2) Domestic & Foreign Tourism for Muslim monuments
3) Domestic tourism for Muslim pilgrims
4) Inbound and outbound travel to Muslim Countries

Haj & Umara

The Haj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest
annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must
be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford
to do so. Being the third largest Muslim populated country, India’s share is large in
number of Haj performer in Saudi Arabia. Haj travel organized by central Haj committee
of India under the aegis of central government and by private tour operators according to
government allocations. The total Haj quota allotted by Saudi Government for Haj - 2009
was 1,67,991, out of which 1,20,586 was for the pilgrims traveling through Haj
Committee of India and remaining 47,405 was distributed among private tour operators.
There are 616 private tour operators organized Haj tour during Haj 2009. Uttar Pradesh,
West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Kerala, Kashmir & Lakshadeep are among major
states having the largest share in Haj quota.
The air travel arrangements for Haj Pilgrims going for Haj only through the Haj
Committee of India are made by Ministry of Civil Aviation. The arrangements for Haj
2009 have been made through Air India, Saudi Arabian Airlines (SV) and National
Private Air Services Company Limited (National Air Services) NAS. During the Haj
season, separate area of ten million passenger capacity is reserved for pilgrimage flights
by all airlines to Middle East at Indra Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

Domestic & Foreign Tourist for Muslim Architect Monuments

Muslim monuments during Mughal and earlier periods encompass a wide range of both
secular and religious styles in India influencing the design and construction of buildings
and structures in Islamic culture, which are the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the
Fort. Top five foreign tourists visited monuments Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Qutab Minar,
Humayun Tomb, Fatehpur Sikri and Red Fort belong to Muslim arts. Same trend is for
domestic tourist but Red fort and Charminar Hyderbad are more preferred than Agra fort
and Fatehpur sikri. Tourist distribution to Muslim monuments can be better visualized in
given figure 1

Figure 1:

Domestic and Foreign Tourist Arrival to Muslim Build Monuments 2008

(In Thousand))

2635.28
2176.76 2121.42

1289.81

591.56
385.70 292.48
153.55 227.45 260.23 223.08 191.24

Taj Mahal Red Fort Qutab Minar Agra Fort Humayun Tomb Fatehpur Sikri

Domestic Foreign
Domestic Tourism for Muslim pilgrims

Islam doesn’t have the religious roots in India but many sects are created within Muslims
here. Several cities are famous due to Muslim heritages like Delhi for Jama Masjid, Red
fort, Humayun tomb, Dargah Nizamuddin, Fatehpuri Masjid, Qutab Minar, Old fort etc;
Mumbai for Haji Ali Dargah; Ajmer for Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti; Fatehpur Sikri for
Buland Darwaza, Maqbara of Sheikh Salim Chishti, Diwan-i-Khas, Panch Mahal,
Khilawatkada-I-Khas, Anup Talao etc; Hyderabad for Charminar Masjid; Deoband for
Darul Uloom of Deoband, one of the most important and influential schools of Islamic
Studies among Deobandi followers; Bareily for birth place of Ala Hazrat Ahmed Raza
Khan prominent scholar of Barelvi sects and Qadiyan for the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad and of the Hamadryad Muslim Movement he founded. These places are
frequently visited by Muslims and non Muslims to see the historical monuments and to
get the spiritual blessings.

Ajmer is an important pilgrimage city to visit in Rajasthan state due to Urs celebrations
of the great Muslim Sufi saint Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti. During the year 2007, total
1985600 domestic and 17513 foreign tourists visited the city. Urs packages to
Nizamuddin Delhi and Gharib Nawaz Ajmer are offered throughout the country by
numerous unorganized tour operators. Haji Ali Dargah is one of the most popular
religious places in Mumbai, situated about 500 yards from the Mumbai shoreline in the
middle of the Arabian Sea off Lala Lajpatrai Marg. It is the complex housing the tomb of
the Muslim Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (R.A.). Along with the tomb, there is also a
Masjid at Haji Ali.
Apart from religious linking, two Muslim dominated states, Jammu & Kashmir and
Lakshdweep are the famous beautiful regions of India. Kashmir, nicknamed as Heaven of
Earth, is known for its lakes dotted with Shikaras, Mughal Gardens and natural snowfall,
visited by 7638977 domestic and 54697 foreign tourists during the year 2008.
Lashadweep, 95 percent Muslim dominated state, is one of the world’s most spectacular
tropical island systems. Thirty- two sq. km of land spread over 36 islands surrounded by
4200 sq. km of lagoon rich in marine wealth. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is
prohibited by laws in all islands except Bangaram. During the year 2007, domestic 16642
and foreign 2933 tourist visited the state.
Inbound and Outbound Tourism to Muslim Countries
India has the friendly relations with Muslim countries, which have around twenty percent
share in total tourist arrival. Restrictive visa policies to Muslim countries nationals by
Europe and USA after the World Trade Tower incidence divert their preferred destination
from Europe to South East Asia and South Asian countries. To attract the Muslim
nationals, Malaysia, Turkey and UAE developed the Halal tourism infrastructure. India is
also becoming the favorite country and number of tourist arrival increased manifold after
2001. Trends of tourist arrival from leading Muslim countries can be checked at table
number 2:
Table 2:

Trend in Foreign Tourist Arrival from Muslim Countries (1999 to 2008)

%age
Change
in Compound
2008 Growth
1999- 2002- over Rate Per
2001 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 1999 Annum
Bangladesh 431312 1367924 456371 484401 480240 540092 - -
Malaysia 168409 218888 96276 107286 112741 119040 126.26 8.51
Pakistan 52762 80726 88609 83426 106283 79573 - -
Maldives 31472 58270 33915 37652 45787 55889 1587.47 32.65
UAE 59240 66069 24560 27593 32750 47163 181.07 10.89
Oman 44813 40535 14979 17849 22284 34510 131.95 8.78
Afghanistan 5867 28796 14025 18799 23045 33041 915.40 26.09
Iran 27027 54087 28691 29771 33223 31531 170.54 10.46
Indonesia 27557 29180 12640 16990 17818 19639 107.78 7.59
Saudi
Arabia 38859 30553 12444 14006 16352 18215 26.28 2.36
Nigeria 22212 18369 10049 9348 10863 14104 113.24 7.87
Turkey 9299 15890 7906 10221 11212 12440 226.08 12.55
 Yemen 23132 23315 9423 9573 10898 11764 56.98 4.61
Bahrain 27295 12350 4923 4793 6674 7594 -24.07 -2.72
Egypt 14875 9851 4048 5528 6328 6794 -3.97 -0.40
India Total 6715239 8568055 3918610 4447167 5081504 5366966 165.03 10.24
1999 & 2000 exclude the data of Bangladesh & Pakistan

Tourist around the Muslim world may be more magnetized if India explores the Halal
tourism here.

Indian tourists also like to visit Muslim countries, UAE is more preferred place but the
exact data is not released by official sources how many Indian visited UAE. Given figure
highlights the leading destinations among the Muslim countries for Indian going abroad

Figure 2

Leading Muslim Countries for Indians Going Abroad (2007)

Bahrain 718415
Kuw ait 653392
Saudi Arabia 613347
Malaysia 422452
Om an 143310
Indonesia 123465
Egypt 82481
Bangladesh 78568
Pakistan 48242
Turkey 45175
Jordan 34610
Maldives 17327

Above discussion indicates the huge potentialities for highly untapped Halal tourism in
India. It needs to be developed on public-private partnership basis to attract the domestic
and foreign tourist across the world. Keeping consideration to niche Muslim tourist,
private tour operators can offer several tourism packages to visit holy Islamic shrines and
government can develop infrastructure around the sites as the other conventional tourism
products have been created like heliport tourism, medical tourism, wellness tourism,
adventure tourism, cruise tourism and caravan tourism to widen the net of this sector.
Shariah compliance hotels and restaurants needs to be developed around all tourist spots
within India and specifically around the Muslim dominated and linked areas to Muslim
build monuments which result to flourish India tourism.

*Shafeeq ur Rahman, post graduate in Economics and Islamic Studies, is a professional

researcher working with leading data provider company and holds corporate research
experience of more than seven years on India centric databases. His core interest areas
are writing on socio economic issues of Muslim, Islamic Economics & Finance and
Indian economy. Presently, he is doing PhD on Islamic Economics Thoughts from Jamia
Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. He can be reached at rahman92a@gmail.com.