First 'Halal Cruise' to Sail from Turkey
To tap devout Islamic believers, Turkey will launch its first Muslims-friendly 100 percent halal cruise on the Aegean Sea next month for religiously observant travelers in the country.
The country’s fist halal cruise was announced by the Antalya-based Fusion Tour company as a new approach that hopes to tap into the $145 billion global halal tourism sector.
On the ship’s September voyage to neighboring Greece, there will be no alcohol, no pork-related products and no gambling, adhering to Islamic Shariah.
Themed “On the track of the Ottomans,” everything on board will be in accordance with Islamic religious values. The cruise will include segregated sports centers, single-sex spa facilities, separate Turkish baths and prayer rooms.
“It will not be just a cruise which does not have alcohol or pork-related products. It will be a cultural and historical tour which promises an atmosphere of social networking,” Kemal Gunay, Fusion Tour general manager, told Anadolu Agency.
“We don’t even have a painting on a wall of the ship which is against Islamic values,” Gokmen Aydinalp, tour project manager, claims organizers have thought of everything.
“Although the tour has been just announced, interest is quite high right now because there is a huge demand for this concept,” he added.
‘Halal tourism’ is one of the fastest-growing markets in the country. The number of halal hotels and tour agents has been increasing over the last 15 years.
However, there has not been a halal sea cruise so far until Fusion Tour organized this special voyage, copying a lucrative format which has seen kosher-friendly and Catholic cruises internationally.
Inspired by kosher-friendly and Catholic cruises internationally, the Muslim-friendly cruise will sail from Turkey’s Izmir on September 27 to the Greek islands of Rhodes and Crete along with the port city of Piraeus by October 2.
