Women in Tourism in Asian Muslim Countries

This book focuses on women in tourism in Muslim countries, specifically where a woman can be seen as a tourism consumer, or a woman producing tourism. This book discusses the role of women in the Muslim world and founds that socio-culturally Islam has a greater impact on women than men. The process of identity construction and the religious values of women have also been extensively researched. But little is known about the role of Muslim women in the tourism industry and this book addresses these themes in the Asian context. This book explores these ideas as defined key categories; Muslim women from Asia travelling to a non-Muslim country, non-Muslim women travelling to Asian Muslim countries, and Women working in the tourism field in Muslim countries.

This book highlights Asian countries as holding a complex mixture of cultures and identities. As Muslim communities are central in many Asian countries the tourism experience is different mainly because of cultural norms and religion. Ultimately, this book examines whether and how these complexities enrich both women and tourism industry within Asian context.

Introduction

Hamed AlMuhrzi & Nataša Slak Valek

Part 1: Muslim women travelling

Chapter 1: Disempowered Hosts? A literature Review of Muslim Women and Tourism.

Isabel Giannina Feldbauer & Heather Louise Jeffrey

Chapter 2: Muslim Women Travellers’ Constraints: A Critical Review

Rokhshad Tavakoli & Paolo Mura

Chapter 3: The Female Muslim Tourist Perceived Value in non-OIC countries: A case of Indonesian Outbound Market

Sari Lenggogeni & Atthiya Chaira

Part 2: Muslim women working in tourism

Chapter 4: Women’s Footprint in Traditional Muslim Ethnic Communities: The Case of a World Pottery Village in Iran.

AhmadReza Sheikhi & Izaskun Andueza Imirizaldu & Emma Rose Barrett

Tazayian Sayira & Hazel Andrews & Ayesha Qurat-ul-Ann

Chapter 6: Lived Experiences of Omani Women Working in the Tourism Industry: A Phenomenological Study

Mohammed Alkharusi & Reynaldo Gacho Segumpan

Sheena Bidin, Azlizam Aziz, Zamru Ajuhari

Part 3: Non-Muslim women travelling to a Muslim destination

Chapter 8: The perceived risks of Western women towards traveling to Oman

Hafidh Al Riyami

Chapter 9: Women in tourism in Muslim contexts: The impact of cultural background on customer behaviour

Irina Gewinner

Chapter 10: Frayer Stark’s Tales of Travel on the Coast of Incense
Zoe Hurley

Conclusion

Nataša Slak Valek & Hamed AlMurhzi

Nataša Slak Valek, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the College of Business at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She has teaching experiences from Asia (Taiwan) and Europe (Slovenia), and practical experiences working for 10 years at the Slovenian Tourism Board.

Hamed Almuhrzi, PhD is an Assistant Professor, at College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman. His research interests focus on visitors’ behaviour and experience, heritage tourism, and Arab/Muslim tourism. Prior to his academic career, Hamed worked as a freelance tour-guide for more than five years.