The first tourist package with “Muslim Friendly” services started in Sicily and was created by the “Sicily Muslim Friendly Development Association”, in collaboration with the Tour Operator “KS Travel & Business“. The tourist offer includes many unique services of its kind, ranging from pure Sicilian cuisine adapted to halal standards, up to prayer in the mosque, with a guide who adopts the Islamic etiquette in the interaction with the tourist. The Tour includes a series of stops concentrated on the eastern part of the island, enhancing the natural, landscape and cultural beauties offered by territory, actively involving local businesses and artisans for this new type of market, where in the rest of the world it is growing exponentially, but in Italy it is gearing up very slowly. In fact, this is the first of a series of packages that will be implemented, where the entire Sicilian territory will be included. Sicily has got enormous potential from an attractive point of view for Muslim tourists, where the only “competitor” in the world would be Spain, in fact, the island has got an Islamic cultural heritage that would make it one of the favorite destinations for tourists in search of culture, landscapes, experiences and above all muslim friendly services.
The President of the Sicily Muslim Friendly Development Association, Franco Sulayman La Spina, declares: “We are very happy to have given shape to the first “muslim friendly” tourist package in Sicily. We are happy for Sicily, we are happy to have opened a door for exchanges with a part of the world that shares with it both the same sea and a cultural belonging, albeit ancient. We are also happy because a few years ago cultural openings towards the Muslim world were unthinkable, but today we can think about it, we can propose it, we can implement it . We always need communication channels and areas of exchange, free from political diatribes, for us Sicilians to consider ourselves partly “Arabs” is normal, as for Muslims to consider Sicily as something familiar is normal: something that belonged to the family, but which then was lost. Nourishing the feeling of historical and cultural sharing with the Muslim world is possible in Sicily more than elsewhere; Sicily – but also all the southern Italy – has a lot to offer, a very bright prospect of development, and it is the task of the Sicilians and of the people of the south to nurture such prospect.
From today, a Muslim, from any part of the world, will be able to visit this magnificent island; he will be able to do so in compliance with the precepts of his Faith: in his hotel room, he will have indicated the direction of the Qiblah to perform the prayers; he will be served a breakfast without foods prohibited to him; he will be able to taste the rich Sicilian gastronomy and visit places of artistic and cultural interest in an atmosphere congenial to him. The “muslim friendly” tourism has got enormous potential that we try to develop: Do you want to enjoy the SPA service in an Arab Hammam? We can offer it to you; do you want to taste “arancini” and Sicilian pastries? We allow it to you with our certification work. The direct relationship with accommodation facilities and food administration allows us to make all the Sicily assets available to the Muslim tourist. Our offer ranges from culture to gastronomy, from hiking to entertainment, to personal care, all strictly “Halal”.
Our work of mediation between Sicily and the Muslim world is a bridge to others; we are convinced that the only possible way of progress is based on mutual knowledge and collaboration “.
While Karim C. Benvenuto, expert in muslim friendly tourism, declares: “The potential of the Sicily Region is enormous, both from the point of view of Islamic presence and from the economic one; in fact, the Region offers several Islamic evidences that only Spain can boast, having a historical cultural attraction that the rest of the western world does not possess. Furthermore, all muslim friendly services are activated by Sicilian companies, having a real economic impact on the territory, in the form both of cash flow and employment opportunities”.
