The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will continue to encourage various stakeholders to acquire Halal accreditation and cooperate with them to further enhance the city’s status as a Muslim-friendly place, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday.

He made the remarks as Hong Kong rose to the third place from fourth as the Muslim-friendly travel destination among non-Islamic countries and regions, according to the Global Muslim Travel Index. The city was also awarded the most promising Muslim-friendly destination of the year.

“I am happy to see many hotels, convention venues and restaurants have been heeding my call (in the Policy Address) to get Halal accreditation,” Lee told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s Executive Council meeting.

In his 2024 Policy Address delivered in October, the CE proposed measures to attract visitors from the Middle East and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and create a friendly environment for Muslim tourists, including compiling a list of restaurants offering halal food and encouraging more commercial venues to provide facilities such as prayer rooms.

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“The number of restaurants that have completed halal certification has increased significantly from about 100 at the beginning of 2024 to about 190 at present. I know a number of restaurants and other venues are applying for the certification and the waiting time will be longer,” said the CE.

The number of visitors to Hong Kong from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries also rose significantly, up 65 percent year-on-year, he added.

The SAR government will work with relevant stakeholders and sectors on several fronts to elevate the city’s status as a Muslim-friendly tourist destination, said Lee. “We will continue to encourage different sectors to participate in getting Muslim-friendly or halal certifications. I believe this will be a very clear message for travelers from Muslim countries to understand Hong Kong. We will also put up a list of Muslim-friendly venues on our travel website and keep it updated for Muslim tourists.”

Lee said his government will step up education and training to allow all sectors to better understand the culture and needs of Muslims. It will enhance its publicity campaign in different countries targeting the ASEAN and the Middle East, and promote Hong Kong through influencers and the media, he added.

Speaking about a New Delhi-bound Air India flight from Hong Kong that had to return to the city on Monday over a technical issue, he said relevant departments will pay serious attention to the development and investigation of this incident and Hong Kong has a very good system to ensure that aircraft safety is of the highest standard in the world. 

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The incident came four days after an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people on board.