An Investigation of the Iranian Cultural and Religious Policies for the Development of Halal Tourism

Traces of the ‘halal issue’ can be found in most of today’s industry including food, cosmetics, transportation, and other related productions. Muslim tourists are paying more attention to tourism markets than ever before. Since Iran is an Islamic country and its laws are in accordance with the standards of Islam, halal tourism can be flourished in this country according to the background of Islamic culture. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the importance of paying attention to the cultural and religious policies of Iran to develop halal tourism. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the contribution of the cultural and religious policies of Iran to the improvement and development of halal tourism. To this purpose, the relationship between religious and cultural indicators affecting the development of this type of tourism was examined using the interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique. This method is a system analysis that examines the interactions between its elements and is based on the opinion of experts. The group of experts in the field of religious tourism and cultural heritage, tourism stakeholders, and managers of accommodation centers have received foreign Muslim tourists. The findings showed that Islamic branding indicators focusing on Iranian culture, marketing, and advertising can introduce the Islamic religious culture of Iran to Muslim tourists and create a good image of the cultural situation in Iran. As a result, Muslim tourists can be attracted to Iran by the most basic religious and cultural indicators affecting tourism development. This strategy should be incorporated into the executive policies of the country as a priority.