The Andalusian Public Foundation El legado andalusí (The legacy of al-Andalus) jointly participates in the first Seminar on Halal Tourism targeted towards tourism professionals.

This meeting aims to disseminate the meaning and key concepts behind halal tourism as it’s an important growing potential market in Granada and Andalusia.

The Andalusian Public Foundation El legado andalusí participated in the first Seminar on Halal tourism under the slogan KEYS to understanding Islamic Tourism: Developments and New strategies organized by this Foundation, Turismo Andaluz (Department of Tourism and Commerce of the Government of Andalusia), the Board of Provincial Tourism of Granada, Andalusia Routes tour operator and the London-based company Creative Minds Media, who’s leading the organizational effort of the Halal International Tourism Congress to be held in Granada next September.

This meeting aims to disseminate the meaning and key concepts behind halal tourism as it’s an important growing potential market in Granada and Andalusia.

The seminar was inaugurated by the representative of Development, Housing, Tourism and Commerce of the Government of Andalusia, Manuel Morales, the third Vice-President of the Provincial Council of Granada, José María Guadalupe, and the director of the Andalusian Public Foundation El legado andalusí, Marina Martin.

According to the director of the Andalusian Public Foundation El legado andalusí, Marina Martin, the importance of this seminar is twofold: "First, its contribution to stronger cultural, social and tourism ties with Arab countries, and second, because it is a unique opportunity to advise the tourism sector on the specific needs of halal tourism, a large potential market."

José María Guadalupe explained that "the purpose of this meeting is to raise awareness within the tourism sector in Andalusia, and in Granada in particular, on the growing importance of Islamic tourism." The representative of Development, Housing, Tourism and Commerce of the Government of Andalusia, Manuel Morales, meanwhile, said that "a quarter of the world's population is Muslim and therefore represents the main segment of the world tourism market."

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), our country is a top destination for Muslim tourists, especially from Southeast Asia and the Arab World.

81,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait traveled to Spain last year, according Turespaña. However, Islamic tourists extend beyond the Gulf region as there are 14.2 million potential customers for halal tourism in the European Union. These potential customers are European Muslim citizens living in countries such as France (6.2 million), Germany (4 million) and the UK (3 million). Some countries are opening up to halal tourism and are adapting their offer to attract this type of customer.

Umayyad Route project

The Foundation has been working for over 15 years on the recovery of Hispano-Muslim culture with countries throughout the Arab World, and especially with our neighbors in the south Mediterranean. In this sense, the Foundation is listed as a reference for good practices in the management of cultural routes in several European projects and is advising institutions and governments in different Arab and Mediterranean countries through the Umayyad Route project funded by the European Union through the ENPI CBC Med programme. This project aims to create an itinerary that integrates locations in different countries into a transnational route. The goal is to materialize, at a tourism level, the rich heritage of the participating countries under a common brand in the Mediterranean and make it more accessible to tourists. This seminar on halal tourism served as an opportunity to further promote the Umayyad Route project.

Clearly, Andalusia, due to its history and its Arab-Andalusian heritage is an important tourist attraction for halal tourism. This reason alone is important, though it is reinforced by excellent cuisine, the climate and the coast.

Caption:

From left to right: The president of the Hotel Trade Federation of Granada, Trinitario Betoret, the representative of Development, Housing, Tourism and Commerce of the Government of Andalusia, Manuel Morales, the Director of the Public Andalusian Foundation ‘The Legacy of al-Andalus,’ Marina Martin, and the third vice-president of the Provincial Council of Granada, Jose Maria Guadalupe, during the inauguration of the seminar on halal tourism.