Halal tourizm development in the world and Turkey: SWOT analysis for Antalya province

The main objective of the research constitutes the assessment of halal tourism development in the world and Turkey. The sub-purpose of the research is to investigate the current potentiality of halal tourism in Antalya province and to evaluate it with the swot analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). The research is important in terms of giving the factors that affect the development of halal tourism based on the ideas of academicians and managers who are in relation with tourism, by determining the factors that should be considered in making new strategies and decisions about halal tourism. The application of the thesis was made with the participation of the managers of 11 hotel establishments providing service in "Halal Concept" and academicians of tourism faculties in Antalya. The data were collected by applying a questionnaire to 74 managers and 51 academicians, 125 people in total. SPSS and SAS version 9.4 programs were used for statistical analysis of the data obtained in the study. In the study, the evaluation of the current halal tourism potential of Antalya province was made by using SWOT analysis. First of all, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Antalya in terms of halal tourism were asked with an open-ended question and the answers were classified. According to the findings obtained, it can be listed that the development of halal tourism in Antalya as opportunities affecting; increaseing the interests of the state in the field of halal tourism and inclusion of halal tourism in the 2023 strategy, easy access of tourists to halal certified products, Recent raise in Islamophobia in the west makes Turkey, a muslim country the best alterntive. having qualified and experienced employees and managers in the field of tourism, strengths; socio-cultural-geographical proximity to Islamic countries, improved transportation infrastructure of Antalya, Antalya being a well-known tourist destination, threats; increased interest to this area in non-Muslim countries as well as in Muslim countries, small number of hotels serving with a halal concept in the city, Russian and German market is likely to be affected by Muslim tourists, weaknesses; less direct flights from Arab countries to Antalya during the winter season, lack of investors investing in halal tourism, insufficient education on halal tourism in universities and vocational schools. Keywords: Halal Tourism, Antalya, SWOT Analysis.