Contemporary Muslim Travel Cultures (Contemporary Geographies of Leisure, Tourism and Mobility)

This timely volume brings together various issues in Muslim consumer cultures and provides a comprehensive account of Muslim tourism and tourist behaviour. Islam is a major international religion, and Muslims are a majority of the population in many countries in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. The growth of a substantial middle class, the development of Islamic consumer cultures, rising Muslim market consumption in non-Muslim majority destinations and the growing significance of intra-Muslim traffic and rising outbound tourism expenditure in emerging Muslim markets have all contributed to substantial interest in Muslim tourism. However, travel by Muslims is about far more than the Hajj and Umrah, as important as they are as acts of devotion. Instead, although often portrayed in the West as a monolithic religion, Muslim travel and leisure behaviour is very diverse, with different traditions and cultures leading to a range of expressions of tourism-related consumption culture and practices. Drawing on a range of empirical studies undertaken in different social and economic contexts and countries, this book provides a well-balanced portrayal of the Muslim tourism experience and practices. This book makes a substantial contribution to an improved understanding of Muslim travel culture and will be required reading for anyone interested in this fast-growing market. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of figures 11 List of tables 12 List of contributors 13 Preface and acknowledgments 16 Abbreviations 17 Part I Introduction and context 18 1 Muslim travel cultures: introduction and context 20 2 Contemporary Muslim travel and tourism: cultures and consumption 31 3 Muslim tourism: a systematic literature review 64 Part II Non-religious travel and tourism 78 4 Travel motivation of Muslim tourists: are they really different? 80 5 Exploring Turkish tourists’ motivation and perception toward Muslim-friendly tourist destinations 97 6 Tourism motives, tourism experience value and cultural change: a focus on Egyptian tourists 110 Part III Pilgrimage and religious travel and tourism 128 7 A study on pre-trip experiences of Fijian pilgrims’ Hajj performance 130 8 Material religion in twelver shiite pilgrimage: resources, values, and dynamics in contemporary Mashhad 144 9 An ethnographic study of lived experiences of Iranian Arba’een foot-pilgrims in Iraq 159 Part IV Women’s travel 170 10 Complexities of women solo travelling in a conservative post-Soviet Muslim society: the case of Uzbek women 172 11 The silent and unseen: two examples of women’s restricted travel in Pakistan 187 12 The travel pattern and experiences of Turkish female outbound tourists 200 13 The travel motivations and experiences of Turkish solo women travellers 215 Part V Interrelationships between consumers and business 232 14 Muslims’ perspectives on tourism boycotts – a complicated relationship 234 15 Questioning Halal tourism motive: in between da’wa, business, and life story 250 16 Interactions between Muslim attendees and non-Muslim staff: a study of the Islamic MICE market in Thailand 265 Part VI Conclusions 280 17 Conclusion: emerging trends and future prospects in the Muslim travel market 282 Index 291