Wesgro recently hosted their quarterly RTO (Regional Tourism Organizations) forum in Caledon. Besides talking about current tourism trends in the Western Cape and receiving feedback from various regions, the focus was on Halaal Tourism.
Fayrouz Holliday-October, chairperson of the Halaal Tourism Association of South Africa, and owner of Halaal Hopper, gave an insightful presentation about Halaal tourism. Holliday-October also demonstrated how establishments could be Halaal friendly to make their establishment more appealing for Muslim tourists, but she stressed that halaal-friendly is very different from halaal. To obtain halaal accreditation establishments have to meet certain strict criteria. Sadly, most establishments outside of cities have not really bothered to obtain halaal certification, which means that they are missing out on this rapidly growing market with high spending potential.
On the afternoon prior to the forum a few delegates took the time to visit the local Caledon Museum. They all mentioned to Hermanus Times that they found the visit very educational and thoroughly enjoyed it.
