São Paulo State Prepares For Muslim Tourism

2025-03-21 02:09:20

(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) São Paulo – The state of São Paulo is working to bring Muslims into the radar of local tourism establishments and ensure that visitors of this religion, coming from other parts of Brazil or abroad, feel welcomed in São Paulo. A year and a half ago, the São Paulo State Secretariat for Tourism and travel launched the Halal Tourism Guide , positioning itself as a Muslim Friendly destination , capable of providing a warm welcome to Muslims. Since then, it has been promoting initiatives in this direction.

It all started with the signing of an agreement in the second half of 2023 between the Federation of Muslim Associations of Brazil (FAMBRAS) and the tourism secretariat, through which the two developed the Halal Tourism Guide in partnership. Halal means lawful or permitted, that is, something that is in accordance with Islamic principles and can be consumed or used by followers of Islam.

Islamic spaces in the state, such as the Brazil Mosque in São Paulo city, are included in the guide

The secretariat's tourism coordinator Ana Clemente explained to ANBA the two major goals of the guide, one of which is to ensure that visitors to the city or state of São Paulo get to know the local Islamic culture.“But also to be able to properly welcome and host this audience in businesses, establishments, and attractions in the city and state of São Paulo,” she says about the reception of Muslims.

With this proposal, the guide includes not only the listing of mosques and other spaces related to the Islamic culture in the state, to be visited by all types of tourists, but also features suggestions for major tourist attractions in São Paulo, ranging from stadiums to museums, as leisure options for Muslims.

The Seven Beaches Trail in Ubatuba city is one of the recommendations in the tourism guide

“We also included the main attractions of the city and the state-what you can't miss when coming to São Paulo,” explains Clemente about the guide. This list includes, for example, the Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo, the Paranapiacaba village in Santo André, the Arts Fair in Embu das Artes, the Seven Beaches Trail in Ubatuba, and others. Among the Islamic spaces featured in the guide are the Brazil Mosque in São Paulo, the Islamic Center of Jundiaí, and the Islamic Mosque of Santos.

The publication also lists a series of hotels and restaurants . There are hotels that are more prepared to serve Muslims, with prayer rugs, the direction of Mecca indicated, the Quran in the rooms, and other features, as well as those at an earlier stage of adaptation. However, according to Clemente, all have undergone at least some form of awareness on the topic. Among the recommended restaurants, there are those that are more adapted and others still in the process of adjustment, but all offer something that an Islamic visitor can consume, she explains.

Training

The hotels underwent halal training offered through a partnership between FAMBRAS , via its Halal Academy, and the tourism secretariat, with its qualification program. Other sectors, such as municipal governments in São Paulo state's cities and the tourism trade, were also trained on the topic. According to the tourism coordinator, over a thousand people in the hospitality sector were trained.

“We carried out some training actions to guide on how to welcome and provide hospitality, as well as minimize prejudice and stereotypes, which are often spread incorrectly. We tried to show that tourism is an activity that seeks peace, integration, and aims to showcase the cultural diversity we have in Brazil and in São Paulo,” explains Clemente.

In addition to the training and the creation of the Halal Tourism Guide, other initiatives aimed at Muslim tourism have also been implemented.“We have a calendar of more than 60 fairs and events where we promote the state's tourism offerings. In some of them, we also promoted Halal tourism,” says the tourism coordinator, explaining that these were fairs held in Brazil.

There are no surveys on the number of Muslim tourists that the state of São Paulo receives, nor a target for the number of visitors to attract, but Clemente believes there have been results from the work done so far.“I have received many questions and inquiries,” Clemente says about the interest that halal tourism has sparked. The training and promotion actions for halal tourism should continue and expand in the state, but this calendar is yet to be defined, according to the coordinator.

For everyone

Just as it created a guide for Muslim tourists, the tourism secretariat also launched tourist guides for Catholic, Jewish, and Evangelical visitors, and plans to do the same for African heritage religions and Eastern religions.“We want the tourist to feel welcomed in São Paulo, to feel that we respect differences, that we respect religion, ethnicity, gender, and that we respect all the characteristics of the people who come,” says the tourism coordinator of the secretariat.

Read more:
Foz do Iguaçu launches halal tourism guide

Translated by Guilherme Miranda

The post São Paulo state prepares for Muslim tourism appeared first on ANBA News Agency .

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