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Purpose: This study focusses on the underlying needs of Muslims to adhere to the tenets of their religion and to guide their behaviours accordingly. These requirements, for the purpose of travelling, constitute halal tourism. As Muslim-minority nations, such as Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, began to market their own brands of halal tourism, there are concerns of whether their current practices are able to meet the requirements of Muslim travellers. Thus, this study aims to understand the main needs and concerns of Muslim travellers when they visit Muslim-minority countries. Design/methodology/approach: Interviews were conducted on selected Muslim travellers who recently visited one of the following destinations, Japan, South Korea or Taiwan. Applying the process theory of travel, service marketing perspective and Muslim religious needs, the study’s conceptual framework served as the basis for crafting interview questions, selecting the participants and explaining the findings. Findings: Muslim travellers are mostly concerned with the need to perform daily prayers and to find halal food at the point of need, and willing to conduct extensive research on the destination prior to their visit. Muslim travellers’ experiences in these Muslim-minority countries are generally met with their expectations, although further socialisation with the locals is needed to induce greater overall satisfaction with the destinations. Practical implications: Understanding the current practices of halal tourism is critical so that improvements can be implemented in the industry. Originality/value: Key preparations, expectations, actual experiences in the destinations and reflections of Muslim travellers provide in-depth insights into their needs and concerns when travelling in Muslim-minority countries. The emergent religion-based dimensions in service experience, such as availability of social agents and halal food at the point of need, extend the conceptualisation of perishability and h

The global halal industry is currently a trillion dollar industry. Businesses around the world are upbeat to get a piece of this lucrative market, including those operating within Muslim-minority contexts. To leverage on this opportunity, there is a need for emerging players to understand the current situation, with the purpose of planning and implementing strategies for the industry’s growth. This study examined the Muslim-minority context of Taiwan and utilized the Viable System Model (VSM) as the framework to diagnose the current state of Taiwan’s halal industry. Data for the diagnosis were collected mainly through interviews with the relevant agencies, managers or entrepreneurs of halal businesses as well as the consumers of Taiwan’s halal products and services. The analysis found that the halal industry in Taiwan already has several implementation units including the Taiwan Halal Center in support of halal business promotion and growth. Taiwan’s halal industry has multiple certification bodies co-existing, with several being business-oriented, while the others community-based. The findings also revealed the central role of local-born Muslims and the mosques in facilitating halal certification practices in this Muslim-minority society, indicating a strong foundation in its environment to support the rapid growth of halal industry. Malaysian authority’s endorsement of Taiwan’s certification bodies is deemed as a crucial support mechanism for their global entry into the halal market. On the whole, the halal industry in Taiwan lacks a formalized halal industry development policy, hence the absence of the functions of policymaking, intelligence, control and coordination in support of a viable halal industry ecosystem. Moving forward, Taiwan needs to institute an integrated halal industry development policy and to fill the missing functions while ensuring cohesions among the functions to manage varieties both in its local as well as in the global environment.

Taiwan is one of the emerging players in the global halal industry. Since the launching of its New Southbound Policy in late 2016, the country has been aiming to move rapidly into the lucrative global halal markets through its brand of Halal Taiwan. However, thus far, the current state of its halal campaign in the international market is not yet identified. This study intends to fulfill this gap by exploring the internationalization of Taiwanese halal-certified food products that are exported to Malaysia. This qualitative study observed the availability of made in Taiwan halal food products at thirteen supermarkets and convenient stores in Kuala Lumpur and greater Klang Valley in Malaysia, as well as on two major online shopping platforms. The study found that the internationalization strategy of Taiwanese halal food products in Malaysia is characterized by the offering of product variety mainly for impulse purchase with high affordability. However, in terms of number and range of products, as well as the establishment of brand identity, it is found that Taiwan is lacking behind South Korea and Japan. The latter two are Muslim-minority countries that fast becoming emerging players in the global halal market. Implications for policy and managerial practices are also discussed.

Halal tourism, which arises from the growth in the number of Muslim travellers world-wide and the rapid development of halal industry, is defined as the engagement of any object or action by Muslim travellers that conforms to the Islamic teachings and facilitates the practice of the religion. As such, the application of halal concept in tourism, including in its development and marketing, must be guided by the Islamic principles. With the purpose to understand the current state of knowledge and practice, we reviewed the literature on halal tourism that has been published in high-tier academic journals. Based on the review, we identified the emergent themes and the knowledge gaps for future research. Among others, we found that the industry is booming with increased participations from Muslim-minority countries. However, there seems to be variations in the practice, perhaps due to the complexity of the market needs. The implementation of halal tourism by Muslim-minority countries is the most pressing issue due to the need to ensure that the process and the service offered strictly comply with the requirements of Islamic teachings, while at the same time, to ensure that the countries are able to develop their halal sectors into competitive industries. Understanding the implementation of halal tourism is an important agenda for future research to ensure that the service provided addresses the fundamental issue of Muslims' obligations to adhere to the Islamic teachings in all aspects of their lives including while travelling.

Halal tourism is defined as the use or engagement of any object or action by Muslim travellers that conforms to the Islamic teachings or facilitates the practice of the religion. It is one of the latest trends that arises from the growth in the numbers of Muslim travellers world-wide and the rapid development of halal industry. The application of halal concept covers all aspects of tourism that cater to Muslim travellers’ needs, including its development and marketing, and this must be guided by the Islamic teachings and principles. Thus, this study’s objective is to analyse the current state of knowledge and practice of halal tourism. To achieve this objective, we reviewed the extant literature on halal tourism that have been published in high-tier academic journals. Based on the review, emergent themes on halal concept and its relation to tourism are discussed and the knowledge gap for future research is identified. We find that the halal tourism industry is booming, with an increase of interest among non-Muslim majority countries in attracting Muslim tourists. However, there seems to be variations on the practice of halal tourism, perhaps due to the complexity in serving different markets. Based on our analysis, implementation of halal tourism by Muslim-minority countries, such as Japan and New Zealand poses as the most pressing issue because of the need to ensure that the process and product complies with the requirements of Islamic teachings; while at the same time, to fulfil the need in developing and marketing halal tourism in those countries. Understanding implementation in this context is an important agenda for future research because of the need to ensure that the halal tourism services satisfy the fundamental issue of Muslims’ obligations to adhere to the Islamic teachings in all aspects of their life including while travelling.

Literature suggests that the learning of qualitative methodology is a craft that requires a close interaction between a student and a teacher. However, thus far, there is a lack of discussion on how qualitative methodology is learned. The lack of knowledge about the use of qualitative methodology could have serious consequences on the practices of management in organisations as well as for future studies. These include possible rejection and misuse of the methodology amongst researchers. To address this gap, the objective of the paper is to suggest a framework on doctoral learning process of qualitative methodology. To achieve this objective, we review literature on learning qualitative methodology in management. Based on this review, we introduce the concept of doctoral research, covering the topics of doctoral research process and doctoral program in management. Next, we discuss the concept of qualitative research in management by presenting the definition of qualitative research and the use of qualitative research. We later describe the required knowledge and skills in conducting qualitative research in management and the methods of learning them. Finally, we propose a framework that i) relates doctoral research process and the learning methods; ii) relates learning methods to the types of knowledge and skills required to conduct qualitative methodology, and iii) points out the importance of having the right interval values in helping students achieve completion of their doctoral program.