County News
Kenya’s tourism ministry planning to promote “Halal Tourism”
At the main exhibition hall at the KICC building in Nairobi during the Halal Expo last weekend. Photo: Kulan Post
NAIROBI—The first ever Halal exhibition in Kenya came to a close Sunday at the KICC in Nairobi.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala was the chief guest at the event which attracted businesses owned by Kenyans of different faith and backgrounds.
Balala said the Halal industry would bring in more revenue and investment if properly organized.
“Halal Tourism is set to surpass $230 billion by 2020, and everyone wants to get a share of it,” Balala said at the opening ceremony of the Halal Trade Expo.
He challenged the traders to take advantage of the growing market.
The exhibition dubbed “Halal Hub” was attended by ambassador and High Commissioners form Malaysian, Yemen and Sudan.
The more than 30 percent of Kenyan Muslims are inclining towards Halal lifestyle. And such event would help them access and purchase Halal products and services in their daily lives.
Ali AbdulMajid, 21, said his view about Halal concept completely changed after he attended the event.
“I previously thought Halal as something to do with food, but Alhamdullilah (Thanks to Allah) this expo has really dispelled that view.
I can now say, Halal, like Islam is a way of life,” The second year Computer Science student said.
The CS called on Muslims to tap into the Halal conscious markets citing that there’s a growing need for investment in Halal business.
“Halal is bridging the gap for fair trade and it is an emerging market throughout the world”, the CS said.
Balala hinted that his ministry was planning to promote and legalise Halal Tourism.
“I have directed the Tourism Regulatory Authority and The Kenya Tourism Board to market Halal products in Kenya and also plan on how to attract clientele – the non-Muslim population.
The sector needs to attract tourist who predominantly seek an Islamic trend of livelihood”. The CS said.
Many of the exhibitionists who participated at the Halal Trade Expo said they were amazed at the level of response they got from their target clients.
“Basically we come here not only to sell, but market our products and reach the clients out there, and it was worth it.
“We received a great number of clients with our exhibitions here at the stalls. It was a brilliant exhibition”. Said Salim Ahmed from Kärcher told Kulan Post.
