THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

New Muslim-friendly app to boost tourism

New Muslim-friendly app to boost tourism

THE GOVERNMENT launched a smartphone app on Monday to attract Muslim visitors, something that could help further boost an industry that has been steadily recovering since a 2014 coup.

Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, but parts of the South are majority Muslim. Known for its laissez-faire attitude towards travellers, powder-white beaches and as an aviation hub, Thailand draws millions of tourists each year.
Now the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hopes the new app will help further boost Thailand’s tourism sector, which makes up about 10 per cent of its economy.
The industry took a beating last year as some foreign governments issued warnings against non-essential travel to Thailand due to political unrest and the May 22 coup, but it has been steadily recovering.
Efforts to welcome Muslim travellers come amid rising anti-Muslim sentiment in some Western countries and recent Islamist militant attacks.
The new app will be available on Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS systems, the TAT said.
With search and navigation features, it will help visitors find hotels and shopping centres with prayer rooms and halal restaurants, said Juthaporn Rerngronasa, acting governor of the TAT.
Among non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries, Thailand was ranked the second most popular place for Muslim travellers to visit in the world after Singapore by the Global Muslim Travel Index in 2015. “We believe this is because we have the required range of products and services for Muslim travellers,” Juthaporn added.
The app is available in English and Thai, but will be expanded to include Arabic and Bahasa Indonesia.
Thailand expects 29.5 million tourists this year, up 19 per cent from 2014, its tourism council said last week.
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