“Being the largest Muslim population in the world is a strength. But it's also a weakness because we already take it for granted, [thinking] that everything is [already] halal,” said the Tourism Ministry's halal tourism development acceleration team head Riyanto Sofyan in Jakarta on Tuesday.

(Read also: Economic zone expected to boost halal tourism in NTB)

According to a 2014 report by PT Sofyan Hospitality International, Indonesia only welcomed 1,854,292 Muslim visitors, while neighboring countries Singapore and Malaysia attracted 3,457,090 and 6,778,929, respectively, during the same period.

“The main issue is awareness. Maybe because Indonesia thinks that it's already a Muslim-majority country, that [all things are] already halal, what is there to be promoted, branded or conveyed to our market target?” Riyanto said.

(Read also: Tsunami monument draws tourists to West Aceh)

He argued that the same case applied to industry players. “They are still not yet aware that this is a huge market, bigger than the Chinese market. They are worried that [if a destination] is labeled halal, then [other tourists] will flee,” he said.

Previously, Riyanto noted that there were 1.6 billion Muslims in the world in 2016, while China, which has been regarded as the biggest market in the world, has only 1.3 billion people.

Riyanto cited an example of when the government supported Lombok to be named as World’s Best Halal Tourism Destination. He said some industry players were opposed to the idea because “they were afraid Australian tourists would avoid the island if it was labeled as a halal destination. But in fact, after it was announced as a halal destination, it saw a 50 percent increase in tourists compared to last year."

(Read also: Govt to promote Aceh, Jakarta as halal destinations)

The government is currently focusing on developing 10 Muslim-friendly destinations in Indonesia, which include Aceh, West Sumatra, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, West Java, Jakarta, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Riau and South Sulawesi. Among the development target aspects are attraction, accommodation, restaurants, tour operators, spas, training and events.

Riyanto said that so far this year the country had welcomed 2,211,934 Muslim tourists from outside Indonesia and recorded 221,056,000 domestic Muslim tourists. “We have to see it from the industry point of view. It’s a business and it's a lifestyle market,” he added. (kes)

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