Dietary Matters to Which Tourists With Religious Sensitivity Pay Attention During Their Vacation

Introduction

According to a research conducted in the USA, there are 2.2 billion Christians (32%), 1.6 billion Muslims (23%), 1 billion Hindus (15%), 500 million Buddhists (7%) and 14 million Jews (0,2%) in the world. In addition to that, there are 400 million people (6%) who believe in traditional religions in Africa, America, Asia and Australia. There are also 58 million people (1%) who believe in other world religions such as Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo and Zoroastrianism. On the other hand, 1.1 billion people (16%) do not believe in any religion (Yeni Şafak Newspaper, 2012). Sensitivity towards food and beverage choices is anticipated for those people with aforesaid religions during their vacation.

Tourism establishments are commercial establishments whose aim is to satisfy people from different nations and religions. There has to be tolerance in tourism sector. The most important task of a tourism establishment is to fulfill the demands of the visitors within the bounds of possibility. Thus, it is a necessity to respect tourists’ sensitivity towards food and beverage, not to judge them and to fulfill their demands regarding their sensitivity. However, in order to fulfill those demands, it is important for the personnel working in tourism sector to have knowledge about different religions right along with their professional knowledge.

People’s participation in tourism has increased because of the rise in world population, vacations with pay, effective participation of women in professional life and reduced working hours. In this sense, holiday choices of the ever-growing world population has changed and alternative types of tourism other than those which include sea, sand and sun have come to light. Thus, tourists have started to travel in compliance with their field of interest and belief and also in groups who act in a similar manner with themselves. As a result, the notion of halal tourism which is mostly preferred by Muslims has emerged. In recent years, halal tourism draws attention as a popular domain.

As is known, food and beverage expense is one of the top expense items of tourists. It can be generalized that nutrition is an indispensable necessity for all tourists apart from gastro-tourists whose main motivation is to try food and beverage and who engage in gastro-tourism. However, there are some factors which determine what those tourists eat and which alternative they choose among others. What people eat is related to their culture and belief along with the geography and climate conditions. Religion is the core part of the formation of the cuisine culture. Human beings who have to eat by nature are restricted mostly by their religious belief when it comes to nutrition. Different approaches of religions towards nutrition have led to the formation of different nutritional regimens (Közleme, 2012).

Nowadays, tourists with religious sensitivity choose establishments which pay attention to their sensitivity. Therefore, some notions such as halal nutrition and halal food have appeared. Researches show that halal food and beverage market will increase to 2 trillion dollars in the near future.

This study which is prepared as a literature review and which addresses dietary matters to which tourists with religious sensitivity pay attention during their vacation will examine primarily prominent dietary commandments and prohibitions of religions, secondly the problems concerning nutrition that tourists with religious sensitivity might face with during their vacation and lastly this study will explain several points that should be watched out in order not to have those problems.