Welcoming the $350 billion Halal tourism market, schools are 'racing' to cooperate in human resource training

Currently, universities and colleges in Vietnam only meet a very limited number of labor needs to serve the development of domestic Halal tourism.

Mr. Le Khac Hoang Son - Director of Halal Vietnam Project Development (HVN) - shared at the event - Photo: TRONG NHAN

This is one of the notable points mentioned by experts in the seminar on Halal tourism , organized by Saigon College of Tourism on August 20.

Halal tourism is a type of tourism that provides accommodation, dining and experiences in accordance with Islamic religious and cultural regulations.

Halal tourism market worth hundreds of billions of dollars

Mr. Le Khac Hoang Son - Director of Halal Vietnam Project Development (HVN) - said that the global Halal tourism trend is also an opportunity and challenge for Vietnam.

According to Mr. Son, in 2024, the global Halal tourism market will reach about 276 billion USD, expected to increase to 350 billion USD by 2030 and could reach 548.1 billion USD by 2035.

With a growth rate of 6.1% per year and a global Muslim population forecast to reach 2.2 billion by 2030, this is a potential segment that countries want to exploit.

Mr. Son said that Muslim tourists often prioritize choosing friendly destinations that are suitable for their culture and beliefs. Realizing this, many countries in the region have invested heavily in infrastructure and services that meet Halal standards.

The Vietnamese government has also paid attention to and directed the development of the Halal economy in general and Halal tourism in particular. Many fairs and specialized seminars have been organized, and a number of hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies have begun to deploy service systems according to Halal standards.

According to Mr. Son, Vietnam’s Halal tourism still faces many challenges. Halal-standard infrastructure and services are lacking, and human resources with knowledge of Islamic culture are not many. The connection between travel agencies - destinations - specialized media has not been formed.

Businesses also lack access to the standards and needs of Muslim tourists. Vietnam must compete directly with famous destinations that have been successful in this field such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Jakarta.

To take advantage of the opportunity, Mr. Son emphasized the need to synchronize many solutions. First of all, it is necessary to develop a system of accommodation, cuisine , mosques and Halal-friendly facilities.

At the same time, training human resources is mandatory, from tour guides, hotels, restaurants to specialized tourism education programs.

The State should have preferential policies for businesses investing in this sector, while expanding bilateral cooperation with Muslim countries such as the UAE, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Finally, according to Mr. Son, communication and technology will be the "key" to bringing Vietnamese Halal tourism to the world. Participating in international fairs, collaborating with Muslim KOLs for promotion, and multi-platform campaigns on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or Podcast will help spread the image of a friendly and responsible destination.

Experts discuss opportunities for developing Halal tourism in Vietnam - Photo: TRONG NHAN

"Bottleneck" of human resources

Mr. Karim Linh - Director of Vietnam Halal Training Center (HVN) - emphasized the training of human resources in meeting the needs of Halal tourism. From drivers, tour guides, tour operators to hotel and restaurant staff, all must be properly trained in Halal awareness.

This is not simply professional knowledge but also cultural communication skills, helping to build trust from Muslim customers. He believes that including Halal training content in the regular curriculum of tourism schools will be a strategic step.

Mr. Linh concluded that in order for Halal tourism to truly become a competitive advantage for Vietnam, it is necessary to build a synchronous service value chain from standards, training to quality monitoring.

"When businesses master Halal and take it seriously, they not only open their doors to the world's 2.2 billion Muslims, but also build the image of Vietnam as a clean, safe and responsible destination," he emphasized.

MSc. Phan Buu Toan - Vice Principal of Saigon College of Tourism - acknowledged that in the context of Vietnam's serious shortage of tour guides knowledgeable about Islamic culture, training needs to start with the most basic skills.

In particular, foreign language proficiency such as Arabic, Malay or Indonesian should be considered a top requirement, as these are the main languages of important Muslim customer markets.

Mr. Toan proposed a practical direction: to take advantage of the coordination with foreign language schools in and outside the country. These units already have training in rare languages, if supplemented with knowledge of tourism profession and Halal standards, they will quickly create a new source of tour guides.

On the contrary, with the existing tour guides and tour staff, short-term training courses on Islamic culture, Halal service skills, combined with foreign language training will help them improve their capacity and immediately meet market needs.

He also emphasized the unique advantages in localities with large Muslim communities such as Ninh Thuan and An Giang. These are places where many Cham Muslims are familiar with the culture, customs and beliefs of the Muslim community.

Therefore, if they are properly oriented and trained in tourism, they will become valuable local human resources, both knowledgeable about Halal and contributing to the cultural bridge between Muslim tourists and Vietnamese destinations.

Cooperation in training human resources for Halal tourism industry

Also at the event on the morning of August 20, Saigon Tourism College signed a cooperation agreement with Halal Vietnam. According to the agreement, the two sides will coordinate to implement specialized training programs for Halal tourists.

The classes are designed in a variety of ways to suit the needs of learners and the labor market, including many topics: hotel reception, restaurant and room service skills, professional kitchen preparation, and consulting and training courses for businesses that need to transform or improve service quality to serve Muslim tourists.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/don-thi-truong-du-lich-halal-350-ti-usd-cac-truong-dua-hop-tac-dao-tao-nhan-luc-20250820141856959.htm