Tourism Officials to Tackle Shortage of Halal Restaurants | Writer : 관리자(@) Date : 18.02.20 Hits : 894 |
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Tourism Officials to Tackle Shortage of Halal Restaurants
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) will
launch Halal Restaurant Week again on a bigger scale between August and October
this year, with a total of 250 halal restaurants set to be in operation by the
end of this year. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Korea Bizwire) ? South
Korean tourism officials are poised to introduce more Muslim-friendly places
following criticism over the lack of halal restaurants in the country. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) will
launch Halal Restaurant Week again on a bigger scale between August and October
this year, with a total of 250 halal restaurants set to be in operation by the
end of this year. With the goal of attracting 3 million
foreign visitors this year, the Busan Metropolitan City Government is in talks
with Muslim travel agencies to develop Muslim-friendly travel programs. The latest moves come after criticism that
there is a lack of Muslim-friendly venues in the country, including halal
restaurants and prayer rooms. According to last year’s report from the
KTO on Muslim tourists in South Korea, nearly 38 percent of the respondents
said food was an issue. Only 13 restaurants have been officially
certified as halal in South Korea by the Korea Muslim Federation (KMF) as of
last December, with six of them located in Itaewon, Seoul. Not even a single restaurant in tourist hot
spots such as Myeong-dong and Jeju Island has been recognized as
Muslim-friendly by the KMF, restricting choice for Muslim visitors. Halal refers to food permissible under
traditional Islamic law, including vegetables, grain, seafood, chicken and
beef. Despite efforts by the KTO, including its
own halal restaurant standards, few restaurants have opted to participate in
the program. Another criticism is leveled against the
lack of prayer rooms, as praying is a crucial part of religious life for
Muslims. There are 25 prayer rooms around the country, including mosques,
according to the KTO. Only luxury hotels seem to be ready to accommodate Muslim tourists who also pray in private, such as in their hotel rooms.
South Korean tourism officials are poised
to introduce more Muslim-friendly places following criticism over the lack of
halal restaurants in the country. (Image KTO)
“With 1.7 billion Muslims increasing their
significance in the tourism industry, efforts to attract them will only
accelerate,” one industry official said. In the past, the push to attract Muslim
tourists has been met with backlash. Plans for a mobile prayer room for Muslims at the PyeongChang Olympics were scrapped after facing criticism from Christian communities earlier this month.
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com) Link-> http://koreabizwire.com/tourism-officials-to-tackle-shortage-of-halal-restaurants/111446 |
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