The world’s first international conference exploring halal tourism has confirmed its expert speaker line-up for its inaugural event this month in Spain.

The Halal Tourism Conference will discuss the opportunities and challenges that halal tourism presents for the industry.

The forum, organised by CM Media, will be held on September 22 and 23 in Andalucía.

With a market capitalisation of $140 billion in 2013 and increasing year-by-year, halal tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the industry.

Renowned hoteliers, tourism ministers, halal tourism experts and global marketing specialists will be present at the forum.

 “We have put together a very diverse line-up who will really set out the agenda during the two-day conference. These are provocative thought leaders which will give our delegates a complete look at the halal tourism industry,” said Tasneem Mahmood, director of CM Media.

“It will also provide the perfect opportunity to facilitate business partnerships and knowledge sharing,” he said.

Speakers confirmed for the event include hotel experts Chris Nader, vice president development at Shaza Hotels, an affiliate of Kempinski Hotels, and Hani Lashin, group general manager at Al Jawhara Group of Hotels.

The two-day event, which is being sponsored by Turkish Airlines, will host around 500 delegates and exhibitors from the Middle East, Far East and Europe including those currently active in halal tourism and countries looking for help to break into this sector.

It will include tourism boards, tour agencies, tour operators, restaurants, media, hotels and airlines. The event will also feature seminars from industry experts, workshops, networking sessions and an exhibition.

The conference will be followed by a two-day tour of the region of Andalucía to provide businesses with a live case-study of a region that is becoming more Muslim friendly and is actively working to meet the needs of Muslim travellers. – TradeArabia News Service