The three-day World Hospitality, Lifestyle, and Entertainment Exhibition and Conference (WHOLE PENANG 2020) began on 10th September at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre in Bayan Lepas. The opening ceremony was officiated by YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia.

TIN Media had organised a Hybrid Forum Series During WHOLE 2020 to connect the Live & Virtual Audience to the Experts Panel of Speakers to discuss & share the knowledge on various topics that can help the industry players to be future-ready. The hybrid forum discussion on “The Rise Of Muslim Hospitality Tourism” where the panel members were Puan Amnah Shaari, Vice-President - Arab Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCC), and Encik Mohamad Faisal Ahmad Fadzil, Tanamera Wellness Centre - Co-founder. The discussion was moderated by Joanne Tan - Digital Strategist - TIN MEDIA. 

Puan Amnah Shaari, Vice-President - Arab Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCC) said Malaysia is a leading Islamic nation amongst various segments because we have done many things rights in multiple divisions. The best thing about Malaysia and its hospitality are that the guest can visit Malaysia and have their halal food without any doubt and that matters the most. She added, “Malaysian has 84 certification bodies in 46 countries and it goes to China, Japan, Korea, etc”.

She said ”Halal means Hygienic, wholesome, clean and safe. The concept of halal is very high. The country that brought a lot of halal food is the Chinese because they understand the concept of halal. They associate halal with cleanliness and hygiene, so they opt to buy halal.” 

Moving further, she quoted “ Muslim hospitality goes to everybody in the world so as halal which goes everywhere in the world.”

”85 percent of the world producer of halal are non-Muslims, this indicates that people believe in halal food. Also, to check the authenticity of halal, people can opt to use the “verify halal” app. The Ministry of tourism last year has come out with Muslim Friendly Hospitality Standard and multiple countries won the Muslim-friendly standard like Japan, Korea, China, Germany, etc. , she added.

 Encik Mohamad Faisal Ahmad Fadzil, Tanamera Wellness Centre - Co-founder said Muslim hospitality shouldn't be limited to Muslims only. There’s a lot of misconception about Muslims as a religion in the western part of the world and he feels that through Muslim hospitality tourism, we can bridge the gap. He said “This can be a good time that through the internet we can showcase the positive side of the Islamic religion.” 

He added ”A lot of countries prefer halal products, like Japan as they take Halal as being clean and proper and that came as an advantage to us. Now, eventually, it is considered as a standard worldwide.

Speaking on Tanamera he said “ Tanamara is an ethical product, we’re human friendly (as the ingredients are not dangerous), the products are eco-friendly as well as animal friendly which is very Islamic in all terms.

He added ”Young audience are more educated and demanding, they don’t go by the stamp. They want to know about everything. This indicates that they are aware and we should share information as much as possible.

Speaking on how to keep the authenticity of halal intact, he said “Now as people are jumping into the bandwagon, I think we have to quantify and qualify on how to manage it. We shouldn’t be overly too protective of the principle of halal which makes it less industry-friendly. 

For more insight, you can watch the entire episode over here http://www.tin.media/whole2020