The contestation of the meaning of halal tourism

This study aims to analyze and describe the responses of tourist destination stakeholders on halal tourism branding embedded by the government and promoted by many countries, including Indonesia. This research uses qualitative approach and the data are collected through in-depth interviews with key informants. Purposive sampling technique is used to determine key informants. The judgment sampling method is used to determine the validity of the data and confirm the truths of the gathered information among the informants. Interpretive thematic analysis is used to analyze the data throughout its process that consisted of data collection, reduction, interpretation, presentation, and conclusions. The study results showed that halal tourism has been interpreted and understood in different ways, and these depend on the structural position of each group. This problem is not at the conceptual level for community leaders and tour guides, instead of at the actual practical level of halal services. This is because they have understood that most tourists are Muslims with strong religious ideals. Meanwhile, the government interprets the concept of halal tourism as a promotion media dominated by economic and political interests. Therefore, it is important to note that halal tourism branding is irrelevant for all tourist destinations.