South Korean Hotel Industry has been directly hit by the steep decline in the number of Chinese tourists due to retaliation over the development of the United State THAAD sytem, 5 star hotels has been recently making every effort to attract 1.7 billion Muslim around the world.

Based on the hotel industry sources on 6 August , the number of Muslim tourists who visit South Korea is rapidly increasing . The data from the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) shows that the number of Muslim tourists stood at 980,000 last year, up 33 percent from the previous year, and is expected to reach 1.2 million this year.

Lotte Hotel, Sogong-dong Seoul observed that the number of guests who are from Middle East surge 40% this year from a year earlier. The Plaza also said the number of Muslim guests increased nearly 20% this year, accounting for 10% of the total guests.

Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas also observed that both of guests who are from the Middle Eastern and African regions the first half of this year has grown 12% .The hotel expects that the figure will constantly increase in the second half of the year as there are big international events coming, including the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. “There are a lot of Muslims across the world and they have a high purchasing power. So, they can be customers who can replace Chinese tourists in the future” said an official from The Plaza. 

As the rising number of Muslim tourists who visit South Korea, hotels are competitively introducing customized services for them. Recently, five-star hotels are acquiring the “Muslim Friendly” certification which was introduced by the KTO. There are four stages of the Muslim friendly restaurant classification system. When restaurants sell dishes using Halal certified food ingredients on a regular basis. They can obtain the Muslim Friendly certification.

Lotte Hotel Seoul and The Plaza are making the most aggressive move. All five restaurants at Lotte Hotel Seoul received the Muslim Friendly certification, while four restaurants at The Plaza all acquired the certification.

Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel’s signature restaurant, Feast, also obtained the Muslim Friendly certification last month. In addition, Grand Hilton Seoul Hotel's buffet restaurant and Atrium Caf? received the certification last month. Sheraton provides the Koran, prayer mat, compass and Tasbih to help Muslim guests have religious rituals at anytime and anywhere.

InterContinental Seoul COEX hasn’t received the certification but has a chef that specializing in Halal cuisines; Jordanian ehich is a veteran chef with 15 years of experience who worked at Marriott Hotels Dubai? and Petra Restaurant in Jordan. Further, Imperial Palace Boutique Hotel Itaewon also said the number of Muslim guests is growing and has decided to provide Halal breakfast for them through the partnership with Kervan, a restaurant specializing in Turkish cuisine. Kervan is the nation’s first restaurant that has obtained the Halal certification and runs seven stores in Gangnam, Itaewon and Seoul Station in Seoul.

link -> http://businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/18893-attracting-muslim-tourists-korean-hotels-competitively-attract-muslim-tourists