Standardizing Halal cuisine to welcome potential markets

VHO - With the number of Muslim visitors to Da Nang increasing sharply and the expansion of international flights, especially from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the city is focusing on developing a professional and systematic Halal service system, aiming to become the leading Halal-friendly destination in the Central region.

Many hotels and destinations in Da Nang City have proactively invested in Halal kitchens.

  Businesses standardize to satisfy customers

Identifying the Middle East, South Asia and CIS markets as potential groups of customers with stable growth rates, Da Nang Tourism is promoting research on cultural and religious characteristics to improve service quality. In particular, Halal cuisine (a mandatory dietary standard for Muslims) is considered the most important factor to approach this group of customers with high spending and strict requirements.

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Da Nang City, Muslim tourists , especially from the Middle East, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan... strictly follow Halal regulations. Food must be certified to meet standards; absolutely do not use pork and related products; do not use alcohol or ingredients of unknown origin; animals must be slaughtered according to Islamic regulations. For some groups of tourists such as Shia, the rules are even stricter, including avoiding certain types of seafood.

Not only controlling the ingredients, Muslim tourists also emphasize cleanliness and purity (Tayyib), which means that food must be hygienic, uncontaminated (najis) and not shared kitchens or utensils with Haram food. Storage, processing and preservation areas must be clearly separated between Halal and non-Halal. In addition, meal service must also be consistent with the 5 prayer times of the day; especially during Ramadan, when guests fast during the day, it is necessary to avoid offering food and drink during the fasting hours.

Currently, Da Nang has more than 800 places serving Muslim-friendly cuisine, including about 40 Halal/Indian restaurants specializing in Muslim guests, more than 10 places with Halal culinary certification, more than 100 vegetarian restaurants, more than 500 restaurants and seafood shops with menus and service styles suitable for Muslim guests. Some units have prestigious Halal certification such as Sun World Ba Na Hills or Halal Indrapura.

Recently, many large hotels and resorts in Da Nang have proactively invested in Halal kitchens, trained staff and cooperated with international certification centers to upgrade service quality. A representative of Furama Resort Da Nang said that although it has not yet received 100% Halal guests, the resort regularly serves ASEAN and CIS groups that require Halal food.

Furama Resort Danang currently has a separate Halal kitchen, with an Indian chef in charge and a team of staff certified by HalalTrip Vietnam. The entire operation process is assessed and certified according to the MS 1500:2019 standard of JAKIM Malaysia - one of the most prestigious and rigorous Halal systems in the world.

Thanks to meeting the requirements well, tourists highly appreciate the quality of cuisine, flexibility and professionalism in service. “In 2025, the Furama - Ariyana complex welcomed more than 2,000 guests from the CIS market, more than 2,000 Indian guests and more than 1,000 Malaysian guests. The satisfaction rate with the service, especially the cuisine, is very high,” said a representative of Furama Resort Da Nang.

Not only large resorts, many private restaurants also strongly responded to the Halal trend. Mr. Patrick Fernandez, owner of Mumtaz Indian Restaurant, said that Da Nang opening more direct flights from the Halal market created a great motivation for the restaurant to expand the menu, upgrade the processing process and train staff.

At the same time, the tourism industry encourages startups in the Halal culinary field. This is not only a niche market with strong growth potential but also contributes to enhancing the image of Da Nang as a “friendly tourist city that respects cultural diversity”. Halal standards now have clear guidelines; the domestic certification consulting team can support from kitchen design, ingredient selection to operational processes, helping businesses easily deploy sustainable models.

In Da Nang city, there are many restaurants serving Halal cuisine or for Muslim guests.

Positive signals from new flight routes

According to the Da Nang Tourism Department, in the first 10 months of 2025, the city welcomed more than 6.3 million international visitors, an increase of 25.9% over the same period. Of which, the markets of India, Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, Iran... recorded impressive growth, showing that the demand for beach and resort tourism in Da Nang continues to attract Muslim tourists.

In particular, since June this year, Emirates has been operating the Dubai - Da Nang route, creating a direct connection with the Middle East, a market with high spending levels and a trend of traveling in families and large groups. In addition, charter flights from Kazakhstan and the CIS region are continuously expanding.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Quynh, Vice Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association, commented: “The Halal market brings opportunities for sustainable growth, potentially helping Da Nang balance the tourism market, reducing dependence on traditional markets such as Korea or China. This is also a group of customers who spend a lot of money, stay long and use many high-end services.”

According to Mr. Quynh, the goal in the coming time is to build Da Nang into a “Halal-friendly destination” of the Central region. Along with that, forming a chain of international-standard Halal hotels - restaurants - services; connecting Hoi An - Hue - Da Nang into a “Central Halal tourism corridor”. Expanding the market share of Malaysian, Indonesian, Singaporean tourists and moving towards strongly attracting Middle Eastern tourists through connecting and transit flights.

To realize this goal, Da Nang continues to focus on training Halal human resources, supporting businesses to achieve certification, increasing promotion in Muslim markets and developing convenient infrastructure for tourists such as prayer rooms and Halal menus in hotels and resorts.

With systematic steps and the right direction, Da Nang is gradually becoming a friendly destination, fully meeting the needs of Muslim tourists - a potential group of customers in the global tourism industry.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/du-lich/chuan-hoa-am-thuc-halal-de-don-thi-truong-giau-tiem-nang-185926.html