tourism (Deputy for Tourism Policy Development,
2015). The religious events currently held in
Bandung, such as pengajian (religious gatherings),
which attracts various age groups, should serve as an
opportunity to start developing halal tourism.
Therefore, this study was aimed at analyzing the
potential of halal tourism in Bandung based on the
visitors’ perceptions of the readiness of tourism
businesses (i.e. tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants
and travel agencies) in the development of halal
tourism in Bandung City.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Halal
Religion is a crucial aspect of human life since it
will influence human behavior, values, and attitudes
at the individual and social levels (Mokhlis,
2009:75). In Islam, halal is not only implemented in
food, but also for all aspects of life, from banking
products, cosmetics to tourism activities (Sriprasert
et al., 2014). The increasing level of education
earned by Muslims all around the world, which is
also followed by an increase in their level of
income, makes them increasingly obedient to the
teachings of their religion. Thus, the consumption
of Muslims will also be closely related to
everything that is legal, i.e. everything that is
guaranteed halal (Akyol and Kilinç, 2014).
The term ‘halal’ comes from Arabic, which
means ‘allowed’ or ‘permissible’. Meanwhile, in the
Islamic law encyclopedia, halal means everything
that causes a person to not to be punished if he
uses/consumes it, or something that can be done
according to the sharia law (Technical Guidelines
for Guidance on Halal Production Systems, Ministry
of Religion, Jakarta, 2003. p. 3). Furthermore, the
term ‘halal’, according to the Ulema Council
Indonesia (MUI), means everything that is allowed
by the Sharia to be consumed, especially in the case
of food and drinks. Al-Quran of Surah al-A’raf [7]:
157 says: “He enjoins upon them what is good and
forbids them what is evil.”
Based on the above definitions, it can be
concluded that everything that is good - for the
body, mind, and soul - is halal. On the contrary,
everything that brings harm (danger) to health: body,
mind, and soul is haram.
2.2 Halal Tourism
Halal tourism may be defined as tourism activities
that direct all products and ways of marketing for
Muslims. Even so, the tourists’ motivation for
conducting tourism activities is not always driven by
religious activities. Non-Muslim tourists can still
enjoy halal tourism, even with Islamic provisions
(Henderson in Duman, 2011).
Halal tourism may also be defined as tourism
activities which are supported by various facilities
and services provided by a community,
businessmen, government, and local government
that fulfill sharia provisions (Wahyulina et al.,
2018).
In Islam, a Muslim’s activities when traveling
are ways to help him/her find practical and
theoretical explanations in reaffirming his/her belief
in the existence of the creator. Traveling helps
people learn to prevent tyranny and oppression; and
traveling increases vision, hearing, and inner
knowledge and saves people from inactivity and
irregularities.
Halal tourism is a new concept of tourism
activities, which not only regulates tourist travel in
performing Umrah and Hajj. Halal tourism is a
tourist activity on vacation that adapts its activities
to the needs and demands of Muslim tourists.
(Wuryasti, 2013). In addition, according to Zamani
et al., (2009), halal tourism can be defined as a travel
activity performed by a person from one place to
another place or when visiting a place outside his
residence for a period of less than one year and for
engaging in activities with religious motives that
must comply with Islamic principles, which are halal
(lawful).
Halal tourism is a great concept of developing
tourist destinations, which consist of, among them,
by halal food warranty, not alcohol, notification of
prayer times (adzan), places of worship with
ablution area, and facilities with the separation
between men and women (Hadi and Ari, 2017).
Tourist services in halal tourism refer to Islamic
rules. One form of the services is the hotel that
provides non-alcoholic foods or drinks and has a
swimming pool or spa area which is separated for
men and women. In addition, transportation in the
halal tourism industry also uses Islamic concepts.
Transportation service providers are obliged to make
it easy for Muslim tourists to carry out worship
during the trip. This convenience can be in the form
of providing a prayer place in the airplane,
announcement of prayer call time, n foods or drinks
that do not contain alcohol, and provision of Islamic
entertainment during the trip.