The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Islamic Tourism in Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia possesses all the characteristics that make it an ideal Islamic tourism destination and adequately cater to the demands of Muslim tourists with an abundance of halal cuisine, prayer facilities, and Islamic attractions from places to festivals. With advantages including an extensive and well-developed halal network, good infrastructure, consistent economic growth rate, government-backed business incentives as well as political and economic stability, Malaysia is an ideal Muslim-friendly destination that also appeals to non-Muslims. Unfortunately, an epidemic outbreak emerged in December 2019 from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which sparked the Covid-19 virus to significantly impact the world including Malaysia and paralyzed the tourism sector. Thus, this study aims to analyse the impacts of the pandemic on Islamic tourism in Malaysia and refine Malaysia's recovery plan towards this outbreak. This study is qualitative research by using documents analysis to achieve the objectives. The finding indicates the impact of Covid-19 can be monitored from two factors, first is based on statistical numbers of tourists entering Malaysia from arrival and expenditure before and after Malaysia closed the border, and second, the declining number of growth projections from the tourism sector that was affected from this pandemic. Hence, a recovery plan under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC) and Standard Operational Procedures from Malaysia National Security Council (MKN), has been established to overcome the impacts and fresh start for Islamic Tourism in Malaysia.