The Halal Science Centre, Chulalongkorn University has developed Halal Route, an application that lists restaurants, lodging, mosques, prayer directions, and tourist attractions in Thailand under Islamic tourism principles. It hopes to help Muslim tourists travel in Thailand with peace of mind and supports tourism industry operators to grow and welcome a growing number of Muslim tourists.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) predicts that in 2024 there will be around 168 million Islamic tourists worldwide. According to the Mastercard-Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI 2024), Thailand is the 32nd most popular destination for Muslim tourists. However, the major problem Muslim tourists encounter in Thailand is finding Halal-accredited restaurants, hotels, accommodations, or tourist attractions with service areas (such as prayer rooms) that are compliant with the Islamic way.
“Halal Route” is a travel aggregator app that collects searchable information on Halal restaurants, mosques, prayer locations, times, and directions for prayers (the qibla), tourist attractions, Muslim villages or communities, hotels, accommodations, etc. This app is linked to Google Maps for navigation with precision. It also supports 3 languages, Thai, English, and Arabic, so Muslim tourists can live and travel more comfortably and with peace of mind,” said Erfun Weahama, science service officer, Halal Route App development team.
Dr Anat Denyingyot, assistant director of the Halal Science Centre, emphasised that the Halal Route application has the most reliable and comprehensive information on halal tourism in Thailand today.
“All restaurants and locations have had on-site visits and are audited according to standards approved by a trusted authority or organisation, such as certifications from religious organisations or halal food-related entities, as well as management systems to guarantee and be responsible for halal conditions (the HAL-Q system),” Dr Anat assured.
Currently, the application has more than 1,100 restaurants in its database, and new locations and services are being updated, covering more than 40 provinces from north to south of Thailand that are popular among tourists.
“Halal Route is not only for navigation, but a platform that connects Muslim communities from around the world who have the opportunity to visit Thailand,” associate professor Dr Winai Dahlan, Director of the Halal Science Centre concluded.
