8:53 AM, March 28, 2024

Thailand Hotel: Thailand’s first halal hotel hopes to help boost Halal Tourism

Home
| The European |
Lobby, Al Meroz Hotel

Bangkok, Thailand – Predominately Buddhist Thailand has opened its first Thailand Hotel, this halal hotel hopes to attract more Muslim visitors and boost one of the few bright spots in its economy.

Nearly 30 million foreign tourists came to Thailand last year but only about 658,000 were from the Middle East, according to industry data.

The four-star Al Meroz hotel in Bangkok, which opened in November, hopes to play its part in changing that, and to cash in.

“There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. It’s a huge market,” said the hotel’s general manager, Sanya Saengboon.

Nearly 30 million foreign tourists came to Thailand last year but only about 658,000 were from the Middle East, according to industry data.

The four-star Al Meroz hotel in Bangkok, which opened in November, hopes to play its part in changing that, and to cash in.

“There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. It’s a huge market,” said the hotel’s general manager, Sanya Saengboon.

A guest at the hotel, Aamir Fazal, 28, a security officer from Australia, said access to a halal hotel was a comfort to Muslim travelers in Thailand where halal food can be hard to find.

“It’s a really nice experience. It’s the first halal hotel here and I find that amazing,” said Fazal.

Eager to tap into a growing Muslim tourist market, Thailand launched a mobile application last year which helps tourists search for halal eateries and Muslim-friendly attractions.

Parts of Thailand’s south, near the border with Muslim Malaysia, are majority Muslim.

Many Malaysians pop over the border for short visits but a low-level separatist insurgency in the far south, that has included bomb attacks in border towns frequented by Malaysian tourists, has dented business there.

A series of bomb attacks in more mainstream tourist towns south of Bangkok this month, in which four people were killed and dozens wounded, has led to fears the insurgency is spreading.

Thailand saw a 10 percent increase in arrivals from the Middle East in 2015 compared with 2014, data from the Department of Tourism showed.

Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Prapan Chankaew; Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Robert Birsel

Sign Up

For the latest news

Magazine Hard Copy Subscription

Get your
favourite magazine
delivered directly
to you

Purchase

Digital Edition

Get every edition delivered
directly into your email inbox

Subscribe

Download the App free today

Follow
your favourite
business magazine
while on the go.
Available on

Other Home Articles You May Like

Website Design Canterbury