Hawzah News Agency (Jakarta, Indonesia) – “Japan has been categorized as a Muslim-friendly country. And H.I.S., through its umrah department, will launch a program of the halal tour to Japan,” said H.I.S Indonesia’s General Manager Operation Officer Arief Kurnia in Jakarta.

Arief said that nowadays, prayer rooms in public areas in Japan, such as the restaurants, are widely available. Several restaurants have also received halal certification from Nippon Asia Halal Association.

The halal tour to Japan package, Arief continued, will include the prayer time information, halal food guide, and the interaction between the Indonesian Muslim travelers with the Muslim community in Japan.

Arief explained the purpose of the interaction is to let the Indonesian tourists know about how the minority Muslim community in Japan survives. "This will be the main point of our halal tour to Japan program,” he said.

Not only Japan, New Zeland government has also been promoting the halal tourism trend in the country. Several months ago, New Zealand tourism department launched a guide to halal food for Muslim travelers in the country.

Regional Manager South and Southeast Asia Tourism New Zealand, Steven Dixon, said the updated guide is the government's commitment in fulfilling the needs of Muslim travelers. Dixon added that it also aimed at strengthening New Zealand’s position as an option of destination for Muslim travelers.

"The halal tourism trend in Southeast Asia is rocketing. Therefore, we want to guarantee that the Muslim travelers in New Zealand have access to obtain information on the halal food options here," Steven stated in the press release in March 2018.

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