New Southbound Policy Portal

Taiwan is crafting a Muslim-friendly tourism environment through a range of measures such as promoting halal certification.

Creating a Muslim-friendly travel environment is one of the goals of the government’s New Southbound Policy. Efforts to this end are bearing fruit, with Taiwan ranking as the seventh most Muslim-friendly destination among non-Muslim countries, according to the 2016 Global Muslim Travel Index published by MasterCard-CrescentRating.

The nation’s strong performance in the annual survey, an increase from 10th in the previous edition, coincides with an uptick in visitors from neighboring countries with significant Muslim populations. For the first four months of 2017, arrivals from Southeast Asia jumped 38.6 percent year on year to about 675,000, according to data from the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Of this total, visitor numbers from Malaysia and Singapore increased by 14 percent and 10 percent to about 172,000 and 127,000, respectively. And last year, arrivals from Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, rose more than 6 percent annually to almost 189,000.

Taiwan’s Muslim-friendly reputation is due in part to a major push to boost the number of halal-certified hotels and restaurants. According to Jeff Tsai (蔡劼甫), halal specialist for Taipei City-based Chinese Muslim Association (CMA), his organization had certified 104 establishments as halal as of April, up from 76 at the end of 2015. “As recently as six years ago, only 11 restaurants in Taiwan had the certification,” he said.

 

One of the best ways to experience Taiwan’s vibrant Muslim community is through exploring the growing number of halal-certified restaurants. (Photos by Chris Stowers)

The CMA’s efforts have drawn strong support from the bureau. “We host frequent gatherings to encourage business owners to seek halal certification and explain the process,” said Eric Lin (林坤源‬), director of the bureau’s International Affairs Division.

Tsai noted that the CMA is also working to promote certified businesses through a recently launched app called Halal.Taiwan. Jointly produced by the organization and the International Muslim Student Association of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Taipei, the software provides information on hotels, mosques, restaurants and other facilities that can make a trip to Taiwan more convenient and enjoyable for Muslim visitors.

Tourism Promotion

The New Southbound Policy, a central plank of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national development strategy, aims to deepen agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade links with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand. With regard to tourism, the objectives include easing visa requirements, raising the quality and quantity of tour guides and increasing the availability of Muslim-friendly services and facilities.

Significant progress is being achieved on these fronts. To attract more Muslim tourists, the government has since October extended the nation’s eVisa program, an online application process aimed at increasing the scale and diversity of visitors, to passport holders from countries including Bahrain, India, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Other efforts include the addition of prayer rooms to locations like major transport hubs as well as the establishment earlier this year of the Taiwan Halal Center.

Organized by the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and operated by the government-supported Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the center aims to bolster the nation’s trade in halal products and use tourism and cultural resources to promote exchanges with Muslim communities around the world.
 

             

A recently launched app called Halal.Taiwan provides information on local mosques, halal hotels and restaurants, and other Muslim services and facilities. (Photo by Chris Stowers)

Alvin Hu (胡俊彦‬), project manager of the center’s Strategic Marketing Department, said that while expanding exports of halal-certified goods is an important function of the new entity, “we’re also involved in building commercial relationships as well as enhancing the availability of high-quality halal products in the Taiwan market.”

These efforts will benefit not only Muslim visitors but the nation’s Muslim citizens and residents as well. According to the CMA’s Tsai, “Taiwan’s Muslim population of about 220,000 has remained stable in recent years.” A decline in the number of Muslims descended from those who arrived after the Republic of China (Taiwan) government relocated to Taiwan in 1949 is being offset by an increase in the number of Muslims traveling to the island for work and study, with many of the recent arrivals coming from Indonesia.

Halal Businesses

For residents and visitors alike, one of the best ways to experience Taiwan’s Muslim community is through exploring the growing ranks of halal restaurants. A popular venue is the Kunming Islamic Restaurant run by Yacoob Mah (馬雲園). The establishment offers what Mah describes as international dishes primarily based on the cuisines of India, Myanmar, Thailand and the Middle East.

The variety of cuisines on offer stems in part from Mah’s life experiences. He was born in what was then called Burma to parents from mainland China’s Yunnan province. Mah’s father was a member of the Nationalist army and among the soldiers ordered to withdraw to present-day Myanmar in 1949 and 1950.

As hopes of retaking the mainland faded, the younger Mah was sent to Taiwan to study, with the rest of his family eventually following. He opened his first restaurant serving halal food in Taipei in the 1980s, initially offering Chinese dishes before his foreign customers encouraged him to shift to fare from India, Thailand and elsewhere. The current establishment is the third that he has operated in Taiwan. “This place has been very lucky for me,” he said.
 

             

In addition to serving as religious and cultural centers, the mosques also provide educational resources such as Arabic classes for Taiwan’s Muslim citizens and residents. (Photo by Chris Stowers)

The Yunus Halal Restaurant is another whose owner has roots stretching back to the Nationalist retreat to Burma. Proprietor Yunus Ma (馬仁偉‬) recalls the great poverty of the refugee camp in which his family lived before he relocated to Taiwan in the 1980s under an ROC government program offering citizenship to the children of Nationalist soldiers in Burma. He took this opportunity and was able to build his restaurant into a popular venue. A notable feature of the establishment is the Muslim prayer room in the basement. “We feel it’s important to provide a place for prayer for our customers, and also post prayer times on the wall of our restaurant,” he said.

A more recent addition to the Taipei halal scene is Tajin Moroccan Cuisine operated by Hicham Samh. The Moroccan national is a new arrival to Taiwan who has found success offering the flavors, sights and sounds of his homeland. He has also gained a measure of celebrity, having appeared on television discussing his venue. “We wanted to infuse the culture of Morocco not only in our food, but in the art and design that we used to create the interior of our restaurant.”

Vibrant Community

The growing diversity and vibrancy of Taiwan’s Muslim communities is most evident at the nation’s mosques. In total, the country is home to seven, namely Taipei Grand Mosque, Taipei Cultural Mosque, Taichung Mosque in central Taiwan, Tainan Mosque and Kaohsiung Mosque in southern Taiwan, and two mosques in the northern city of Taoyuan: Longgang Mosque and At-Taqwa Mosque.

Taipei Grand Mosque is the largest and oldest of these. In addition to serving as a religious and cultural center, it also provides educational resources for the city’s Muslim community. “We offer many classes for both young and old on Sundays, with topics such as learning Arabic using the Quran,” said Ibrahim Chao (趙錫麟), the mosque’s imam.
 

             

The Grand Hotel in Taipei and Luminous Hot Spring Resort and Spa in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County are among the some 50 halal-certified hotels in Taiwan. (Photos by Huang Chung-hsin)

Educational programs like these can help support the nation’s tourism promotion strategy. “Greater availability of guides with relevant language skills will help boost Muslim visitors to Taiwan,” Lin said. The government also plans to make it easier for students from Indonesia and elsewhere to work in Taiwan after graduation.

According to the Tourism Bureau official, while much remains to be done, momentum in enhancing Taiwan’s Muslim-friendly environment is building, as exemplified by the rapid increase in halal-certified establishments. The bureau and CMA stand ready to help other interested local businesses by explaining halal standards and how they can be met, he stressed.

“Fostering the tourism sector is a focus of the government’s national development strategy and the New Southbound Policy is adding fresh impetus to our efforts,” Lin said, adding that he is hopeful more local businesses will see the potential of providing Muslim-friendly products and services and help establish the nation as a leading destination for Muslim tourists.