Prospects for Halal Tourism Development in Hanoi

On April 15, 2025, Hanoi College of Commerce and Tourism in collaboration with the Institute of South Asian, West Asian and African Studies, Vietnam Halal Certification Center and many domestic and foreign partners organized an international conference with the theme "Prospects for developing tourism associated with Halal in Hanoi".

The event is one of the activities to concretize the Project on developing Vietnam's Halal industry until 2030 approved by the Prime Minister, and at the same time demonstrates the pioneering role of the School in connecting training, practice and promoting international cooperation in the fields of education, tourism and trade.

Dr. Trinh Thi Thu Ha - Principal of Hanoi College of Commerce and Tourism. (Photo by N. Phuong)

The workshop was attended by nearly 150 domestic and international delegates, including diplomats, experts, scholars, service businesses, Halal certification organizations, and representatives of the Embassies of Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Iran, Palestine and Türkiye.

The program focuses on clarifying global trends in the Halal industry, the current situation and opportunities for Halal tourism development in Hanoi, as well as proposing policy solutions, connecting and training human resources to serve the Muslim tourism market.

Dr. Trinh Thi Thu Ha - Principal of Hanoi College of Commerce and Tourism affirmed: "Halal tourism is emerging as a global trend, expected to contribute nearly 350 billion USD to the world tourism industry by 2030. With more than 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide, this is a potential market that Vietnam in general and Hanoi in particular need to proactively approach".

In the professional presentation, Mr. RamLan Osman - Director of the National Halal Certification Center presented the Halal certification system according to international standards, and highly appreciated Vietnam's potential to become an attractive destination for the Muslim community if there is a systematic investment strategy in infrastructure, human resources and social awareness.

Mr. RamLan Osman - Director of National Halal Certification Center (Photo: N. Phuong)

Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Cong Hoang - Head of the Middle East and West Asia Research Department (Institute of South Asia, West Asia and Africa Studies) gave an overview of the global Halal market with a scale of more than 7,000 billion USD in 2024 and expected to reach 10,000 billion USD in 2028 (annual growth rate of 6-8%).

Mr. Hoang especially emphasized the role of Hanoi as an economic, cultural and tourism center. However, he also frankly pointed out the limitations of Hanoi such as: lack of prayer facilities, unsynchronized services and the need to improve the quality of human resource training to serve the Halal market.

Expert Aemin Nasir - lecturer at RMIT University also contributed practical perspectives from Muslim tourists, emphasizing that experience factors, service attitude and clear information systems are the keys to creating friendliness and trust from tourists.

Just exploring the country, visiting different areas here, I think you can expand your tourism business by a hundred percent just by catering to specific tourists, with certain needs or certain customs. When they are catered to properly, they will come to explore and experience this wonderful country the way I did.

The workshop was also an opportunity to clearly emphasize the specific policy orientations of Hanoi in developing Halal tourism in a systematic and methodical manner. According to the plan until 2030, Hanoi aims to build a comprehensive Halal tourism ecosystem, in which priority is given to the formation of “Halal Friendly Zones” - areas friendly to Muslims - in the central districts.

The school has signed strategic cooperation agreements with many domestic and foreign partners. (Photo: N. Phuong)

The city also aims to improve service capacity in the accommodation and food industry, with the target of having at least 10 to 20 hotels meeting standards to serve Muslim tourists by 2030, and about 30% of restaurants in the central area being able to provide Halal-certified dishes.

Along with infrastructure development, Hanoi also strengthens the implementation of specialized training programs for businesses in the tourism industry, coordinates with international organizations and specialized research units such as the Institute of South Asian, West Asian and African Studies, aiming to build a team of capable human resources to serve the potential Halal market.

In addition to in-depth discussions from domestic and foreign experts, the conference also marked an important turning point when Hanoi College of Commerce and Tourism officially announced the establishment of the Halal Training Center. The school signed a strategic cooperation agreement with many domestic and foreign partners on training, providing opportunities for professional practice, developing Halal-standard products and services, and promoting Vietnamese tourism to the international Muslim market.

Thuy Duong

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/trien-vong-phat-trien-du-lich-gan-voi-halal-tai-ha-noi-post545489.html