The Challenges and Opportunities in Addressing the Needs of Middle Eastern Tourists

This chapter identifies and discusses the specific needs of Middle Eastern tourists visiting the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia. Based on empirical data collected through a qualitative study, self-administered questionnaires (N = 500) were distributed to Middle Eastern tourists who visited the Gold Coast and stayed at Gold Coast accommodation for at least one night. The 305 responses (61 percent response rate), generated a total number of 461 multiple responses. Content Analysis identified key themes and sub-themes associated with Islamic religious beliefs. The findings showed that the management of the Gold Coast accommodation sector had a distinct lack of information and understanding of Middle Eastern tourists' needs. This chapter provides useful managerial and marketing recommendations, including suggested best practices, to hoteliers who provide accommodation services to international tourists, such as Middle Eastern tourists, and contributes to the limited knowledge on Islamic marketing. This in turn potentially contributes to the increased success of the tourism industry in developed countries such as Australia.

A Rhetoric on Diversity and Marketing Theory

The purpose of this chapter is to present a highlight of how Islam, and thereby Islamic marketing as an emerging research domain, fits within mainstream marketing thought given the marginalization of some ethnic groups and the calls for diversity therein. The chapter argues that the Islamic paradigm can integrate within marketing theory in light of the critical marketing discourse, whilst creating a “theistic science” that links to Islamic civilization and builds a bridge to the future of this science.

The Advent of Western-Style Shopping Centres and Changes in Saudi Women's Purchasing Behaviour

This chapter sets out to investigate: (a) the extent to which Western-style shopping centres affected women's culture and (b) the reasons for family members to imitate relatives and subsequently purchase unaffordable apparel in Riyadh. In order to address these research questions, in-depth interviews were conducted with Saudi women shoppers at Western-style shopping centres. Results show that the main reasons for visiting Western-style shopping centres were the expensive brand images, improving social position within the society, liberalisation of women's culture, and to portray themselves as open-minded individuals. Moreover, the study also shows that Saudi women are highly influenced by the new Western-style shopping environment as evidenced by their desire to imitate relatives who shop at Western-style shopping centres and their desire to improve their perceived social position. Notably, they also depict a “must have” attitude toward current fashion and keeping on top of the latest fashion trends.

Halal Branding for Medical Tourism

This chapter explores the emergence and development of Halal branded hospitals and medical facilities as a product of Medical Tourism for Muslim patients around the world and in India. Halal tourism is a sub-category of spiritual tourism, where one has to abide by the Sharia law to satisfy Muslim customers. The main objective of the chapter is to focus on a niche category of halal medical tourism, where Sharia rules are followed to attract the medical tourist mainly from Islamic countries. This chapter also proposes a typology of Muslim medical tourist's cultural sensitivities and recommends branding and certifying Halal Medical Tourism hospitals, healthcare facilities, pharmaceuticals, products, and services to attract Muslim patients, and provides challenges and opportunities with future research directions. The case studied in this chapter is of the Global Health City, the first Halal Certified Medical Hospital facility in Chennai, India. It presents a model for halal branding of Indian Medical Tourism based on the halal decision-making paradigm for Muslim customers designed by Wilson and Liu (2010). The model presented here indicates attitudes of being rational or emotional and elements reflecting affective and cognitive feelings for Muslim patients seeking halal treatment in halal hospitals.

Halal Food Market and Opportunities for Logistics Sector

Religions have their own set of rules about foods. There are institutions to supervise the conformity of the food products to these particular sets of rules. Products that are ritually fit according to the religious law and therefore are proper to be consumed are called “kosher” for Jews and “halal” for Muslims. The topic of halal food has sparked a continuously increasing interest, especially in recent years, and it is one of the most popular topics on the agenda of both the scientific and business communities as well as the states. In this chapter, both the concept of “halal” and the logistics operations that also have a significant relevance with the concept have thoroughly been examined. The concept of halal covers all of the activities related with food products “from farm to fork,” but logistics activities in this sense have usually been ignored. In this study, the definition and scope of halal logistics and also the opportunities for businesses have been dealt with. The aim of the research is to determine the potential of the halal food market around the world and opportunities for the logistics sector. Since the number of the studies about halal food and halal market is limited, this chapter is expected to help academicians and practitioners. One of the objectives of this study is to compare similarities and differences between halal food and kosher food. Another objective of the study is to determine the rules of halal food in logistics operations.

Determinants of Saudi Consumers' Willingness to Participate in Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) Campaigns

The current chapter explores how Saudi consumers perceive CRM campaigns, their awareness toward this kind of campaign, and then the effect of their perception on their willingness to participate in CRM campaigns in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it examines the effect of cause's attributes on the willingness to participate in CRM campaigns. The chapter discusses the results of 25 in-depth interviews with Saudi consumers that were conducted in one of the main shopping centres in Saudi Arabia. The following main themes emerged from the interviews: consumers' perception of CRM campaigns, matching between the charity and the company/brand, the importance of the cause to the consumer, and the proximity of the cause. In addition, results show the high impact of consumers' religious, moral, and cultural background on the decision to participate in a CRM campaign.

Superfluous or Moderation?

In this chapter, the authors focus on the aspects of religious belief that may affect consumption behavior. Previous studies have clearly stated that the study of religion's influence on consumer behavior is still under-researched (Lindridge, 2005; Mokhlis, 2009, 2010). The premise lies in the view that culture is a way of life, and thus, the authors explore whether or not that suggests the same for religion, and if it is, how does religion predict the conspicuous behavior of people towards the purchase of luxury goods? In specific, the authors are interested in exploring the level and intensity of religiosity on conspicuous consumption. Therefore, it is significant to study “religiosity” as one of the predictive factors of a consumerism culture that may help explain why people engage in conspicuous consumption. The chapter provides a concluding remark by highlighting the practical aspects on domestic or international marketers who wish to market their luxury products in Malaysia.

Islamic Tourism in South Africa

New economic opportunities emerged during the post-apartheid period in South Africa. Tourism was one sector that presented untapped potential to its citizens and the global community. This sector became one of the key generators of economic activity, and “halal tourism,” also referred to as Islamic tourism, developed as part of this emerging market. Research in Islamic tourism is still in its infancy, but due to the historical presence of Muslims, Islamic culture has always been regarded as an integral part of the South African cultural heritage. Evidence that Islamic tourism is an emerging sector is the recently convened conference on “halal tourism” in South Africa. Islamic tourism cannot be understood without an appreciation of the history of Muslims in South Africa. Since their arrival as political exiles and slaves beginning in 1652, Muslims struggled against colonialism and oppression, and today, their vibrancy is visible in the cultural, social, and economic landscape of South African society. The critical question that informs this chapter is, What is the potential of Islamic tourism in South Africa? Through a theoretical lens, tourism is viewed from a postmodern perspective that critiques the dominant homogenous views of Islam and Muslims. While Muslim culture evolved over time, it changed into a hybrid of cultural and religious confluences shaped by internal and external forces. Muslim culture consequently forms a significant component of the national heritage and is an integral part of the tourism industry. This chapter locates the manifestation of Islam in the context of tourism, arguing for its viability as a significant component of an emerging global Islamic tourism market.

Factors Determining the Price of Umra Package among Travel Agencies in Kano Metropolis

The incessant complaints by civil society organizations and the general public in Nigeria against exploitative charges by tour operators and travel agencies on hapless Hajj and Umrah pilgrims call for careful examination. Previously, some of these unscrupulous tour operators have hidden under the excuse of the high cost of visas to charge exorbitant fees. However, with the recent clarification from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Nigeria that both Hajj and Umrah visas are free, it is clear that some travel agencies have been exploiting Nigerian pilgrims. This chapter is conducted in order to address this issue. Consequently, the chapter attempts to provide relevant insights on Islamic tourism in Nigeria with specific emphasis on the reasons behind the high cost and variations in the prices of Umra packages among travel agencies in Kano State of Nigeria. It is an exploratory study that uses a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with senior officers of selected travel agencies in Kano. Findings from the study reveal that Umra pilgrims in Kano pay higher and different fares. It has also been established that there are variations in Umra prices due to some direct and indirect factors that determine Umra package fares. Consequently, it is recommended that there is a need for the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to properly regulate Umra pilgrimage like that of Hajj and to embark on an aggressive enlightenment campaign to educate potential and present Umra pilgrims on the necessary factors that affect the price of a typical Umra package and how they can identify a registered travel agency from a quack one so as to protect themselves against undue exploitation.

Islamic Tourism in India and Pakistan

This chapter is based on a study of tourism in India and Pakistan and is associated with Islamic faith and practices in both countries. Islam-oriented destinations in both countries have been marketed as products of heritage, cultural, historical, or archaeological tourism. The aim of this chapter is to present the argument that all tourism destinations linked with Islam in India and Pakistan need to be marketed as Islamic tourism products. This chapter makes a contribution to the theory and practice of tourism, marketing, and Islamic marketing. The discussion in this chapter covers the historical perspective of Islamic tourism in literature review and provides an understanding of halal branding of Islamic tourism in the context of India and Pakistan. Recommendations are provided to governments at local, regional, and national levels, private sector, and the local population to reap benefits from opportunities arising from Islamic tourism. The findings and conclusion of this chapter also attempt to make a social and political contribution by promoting peace, mutual social harmony, and universal spiritual understanding between the people of India and Pakistan for economic prosperity.