Cambodia takes first steps in building its Islamic economy

Cambodia is taking its first steps towards building its Islamic economy ecosystem. Last November the predominantly-Buddhist country established a halal steering committee and has invited Thai and Malaysian authorities to help in the certification process.

Both countries stand to gain economically from Cambodia opening up to the Islamic economy but Thailand is undoubtedly closer to Cambodia both geographically and culturally.

If Cambodia is looking to Thailand as a benchmark for its own Islamic economy growth it has set its sights long as the latter already has a developed ecosystem. 

Thailand is home to 10 times more Muslims than Cambodia and its halal exports were valued at $6 billion in 2014, according to most recent official data. The country is now the largest exporter of halal-certified poultry in Southeast Asia.

In tourism, among non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries Thailand is second behind Singapore on the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI). It is a popular destination for many tourists from OIC countries and in 2016 welcomed 4,069,451 from Malaysia and Indonesia alone, with 87 percent arriving from Malaysia, according to data from the tourism ministry. 

In contrast, Cambodia attracts almost 6.5 times fewer tourists than Thailand. In 2016 Thailand's tourist numbers rose nearly 9 percent to 32.67 million and brought in $45.9 billion compared to Cambodia's tourism arrivals rising 5 percent to reach 5 million and earning $3 billion in revenue. 

Cambodia ranks 91st on the GMTI, with its strongest points being Muslim traveller and general safety, and as a family-friendly destination.

Its biggest OIC tourist source markets are Southeast Asian neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia. In 2016 152,843 arrived from Malaysia and 48,771 from Indonesia. 

However, Cambodia is not as popular a destination for other Muslim-majority countries. In 2016, a total of 15,089 arrived from 10 OIC countries: Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. 

© SalaamGateway.com 2017 All Rights Reserved