“HALAL TOURISM STANDARDS” AND PILGRIMAGE TOURISM IN UZBEKISTAN

Over the last several years, Islamic life style market has been growing as Sharia’h compliant products and services (e.g. halal food, Islamic tourism and Islamic finance) have become an important component of the global economy. With an increasing awareness and expanding numbers of Muslim tourists, many tourism industry players have started to offer special products and services, developed and designed in accordance with the Islamic principles, to cater to the needs and demands of these tourists. Nevertheless, despite attracting significant interest across the globe, Islamic tourism is relatively a new concept in both tourism theory and practice.