In the news this morning was this initiative to create a chain of Sharia compliant hotels by Al Mulla Group based in Dubai. In its website it says all its properties operating under its three brands will respect and abide by the principles of Sharia and will not sell alcohol and only serve Halal prepared food, as interpreted by the Sharia law and the Sharia supervisory board. There's a large market to be captured. It says "according to the World Tourism Organization, Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest outbound travel markets in terms of average spend with tourists from the Kingdom spending US$ 6.7 billion annually on overseas travel. The UAE travellers are close behind at more than US$ 4.9 million, an average of US$ 1,700 per trip, which is US$ 500 higher than the European average".Back home most if not all our hotels are actually Sharia compliant. But they are currently not promoted along that line, may be not to create a negative signal or was not thought about at all. And also there are little voices in the community and in particular in the tourism industry who have been advocating for alcohol to be made exception in these establishments in order to make this industry back home to be more 'internationally' alligned. The fact that this Al Mulla Group made a bold initiative is a good lesson indeed. They are making a big statement. When things are seen to be prohibitive and a disadvantage to be competitive in this global industry, there are always ways to counter it. If only we are are more creative, there is always a large opportunity our there to be gained.
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