Halal culinary and tourism marketing strategies on government websites: A preliminary analysis

Abstract

In the present study, the use of the internet to promote Halal cuisines and culinary tourism is compared and contrasted through content analysis method of investigation of the national tourism bureaus of China, South Korea, Japan and Thailand on their official websites. It was found that Japan, South Korea and Thailand attempted to strategize their country's potential as a preferred Halal tourism destination for Muslim tourists by introducing and promoting Halal cuisines, Halal food culture, Halal food restaurants and general Halal services of interest for Muslims. However, the same was not observed in the case of China, which dealt with the issue of religion as an ethnic issue in its culinary tourism strategies. The findings furnished by the present study accommodate both the perspectives of the industry and the research by providing a framework for essential website dimensions for the promotion of Halal culinary tourism and additional Halal services.