Ministry of Tourism and Bank Indonesia Conduct Training to Strengthen Muslim-Friendly Tourism
The Ministry of Tourism and the Sharia Economics and Finance Department (DEKS) of Bank Indonesia (BI) have held training for 25 representatives of leading tourism villages from various provinces to strengthen the competitiveness of national Muslim-friendly tourism.
In an official statement confirmed in Jakarta on Tuesday, the Ministry of Tourism’s Expert Staff for Digital Transformation and Tourism Innovation, Masruroh, said tourism villages hold a strategic position in quality tourism development because they provide a space for tourists to interact directly with cultural wealth, nature, traditions, and the lives of local communities.
“Strengthening the capacity of tourism village managers is an important investment to realise quality, competitive destinations that can provide sustainable benefits for the community. In the context of quality tourism development through Muslim-Friendly Tourism, the growth of the Muslim tourist market is a strategic opportunity that needs to be continuously strengthened,” said Masruroh.
The event was attended by 25 leading tourism villages from Aceh, West Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, and West Nusa Tenggara, which are the regions with the best achievements in the 2025 Indonesia Muslim Travel Index (IMTI). The 25 participants were selected through a curation process by a curator team appointed by Bank Indonesia from 63 potential tourism villages.
Over three days, participants took part in a series of intensive training, mentoring, group discussions, preparation of follow-up action plans, and field visits. The materials and mentoring focused on strengthening the institutional capacity and governance of tourism villages, developing products and tourism experiences based on local potential, digital marketing, preparing performance indicators, and implementing Muslim-Friendly Tourism (PRM) principles.
Participants also received mentoring to identify the potential and challenges of each tourism village, prepare and refine tourism packages based on local potential, while developing more effective and data-driven marketing strategies.
The mentoring was also directed at facilitating the best tourism products and packages so they can enter online travel agent (OTA) platforms or online travel agencies.
The guidelines and technical instructions cover the availability of halal food and beverages, clean and easily accessible places of worship, and adequate sanitation facilities, particularly in the elements of attractions, amenities, and accessibility (3A).
Masruroh stated that PRM is now used as an approach to improve service quality and tourist experience while still prioritising culture, local wisdom, and the uniqueness of each tourism village.
“These values are aligned with the character of Indonesian tourism, which upholds hospitality, cleanliness, comfort, and respect for diversity,” she said.
Masruroh also emphasised that the development of Muslim-friendly tourism is one of the strategies to realise quality tourism, especially through the provision of additional services that meet the needs of Muslim tourists without changing the character, culture, or identity of the destination.
The approach is in line with efforts to build Indonesian tourism that is increasingly quality-oriented, inclusive, sustainable, and focused on improving the tourist experience.
Deputy of DEKS BI Dwi Putra Indrawan said the training is part of efforts to strengthen the national Muslim-friendly tourism ecosystem through the development of tourism villages as one of the nodes of regional economic growth.
The activity also serves as a follow-up and form of appreciation for the five provinces with the best achievements in the 2025 IMTI through more targeted mentoring oriented towards developing market-ready products.
One of the main outputs of the training is the preparation of follow-up action plans for each tourism village. The document serves as a post-activity implementation guide covering steps to improve service quality, strengthen tourist experience, develop tourism products and packages, optimise digital promotion, and efforts to increase tourist visits and economic benefits for local communities.
The tourism village development process is expected not to stop after the training, but to continue to the stages of implementation, mentoring, monitoring, and evaluation on an ongoing basis.