Halal Route Application – Eat, Travel around Thailand, Safe and Sound Halal Style

The Halal Science Center, Chulalongkorn University has developed Halal Route, an application that lists restaurants, lodging, mosques, prayer directions, and tourist attractions in Thailand under Islamic tourism principles. It hopes to help Muslim tourists travel in Thailand with peace of mind, and supports tourism industry operators to grow and welcome a growing number of Muslim tourists.

Halal tourism, or Islamic tourism is the direction that must be monitored closely. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) predicts that in 2024 there will be around 168 million Islamic tourists worldwide, a figure that is 5% higher than the number of tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic. Where do these massive Muslim tourists go?

According to the Mastercard-Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI 2024), Thailand is the 32nd most popular destination for Muslim tourists.

Thailand has many charms. In addition to its magnificent nature, arts, and culture, being a multicultural society where people of many races and religions can live together is an important selling point because the society is open and friendly to tourists of all nationalities and religions. However, the major problem Muslim tourists encounter when traveling in Thailand is finding Halal-accredited restaurants, hotels, accommodations, or tourist attractions with service areas (such as prayer rooms) that are compliant with the Islamic way.

“Thailand welcomes about 30 million foreign tourists a year, 20 percent of which are Muslims. This is a large number and is likely to grow every year. The Thai tourism industry should focus on this group of tourists, but currently, there is not enough support for halal tourism. This may partly be due to the complicated steps required to make the services meet Halal standards, so it is not widely practiced.” Associate Professor Dr.Winai Dahlan, Director of the Halal Science Center, Chulalongkorn University elaborated on the problems that led to the development of the “Halal Route” application.

“The Halal way is not just about food but covers all aspects of the Muslim lifestyle. This application connects all areas of tourism throughout Thailand, allowing Muslim travelers worldwide to observe their religion’s requirements while on vacation.”

After the Halal Route application was released for free download in 2020, it has been continuously updated and upgraded and received positive user reviews. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Winai is confident that the “Halal Route” application will help Thai entrepreneurs reach more Muslim tourists and simultaneously help them travel, eat, and relax throughout Thailand with peace of mind while observing Islamic principles.

6 Key Points in Halal Tourism Management

Halal Tourism must observe Islamic religious requirements and values which cover travel, meals, and accommodation. Some examples are no consumption of pork, venomous animals, or alcohol, praying 5 times a day, etc. The provision of services, atmosphere, and environment in compliance with Islamic principles will influence people’s decision to travel to Thailand.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Winai suggested 6 areas that tour operators should realize and focus on in Halal tourism management:

1. Food is the most important factor in choosing a destination for Muslim tourists.  They can only consume certified Halal foods and are prohibited from consuming pork, dogs, venomous animals, carnivores, or animals that died by natural causes, which are considered to be Haram or forbidden. 
2. Prayer Facilities – Devout Muslims pray in homage to Allah five times a day: in the morning, before sunrise, at noon, in the afternoon, after sunset, and at night. Therefore, appealing attractions to halal tourism should provide prayer facilities, such as separate men’s and women’s prayer rooms and a place to cleanse the body before prayer, etc.
3. Service during Ramadan – the fasting month for Muslims in which they refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, having sexual pleasure, and other sinful behaviors from sunrise to sunset to show loyalty to Allah. Therefore, Muslims who need to travel abroad during this period are often looking for hotels and services that facilitate such fasting, such as the ability to prepare halal food before sunrise (Suhur), etc.
4. Bathroom Hygiene – “Water” represents purity, and cleanliness and according to Islam, physical cleanliness is an important element of Muslims, so they pay special attention to bathroom hygiene and clean water.
5. Non-Halal Activities—When traveling, Muslims tend to avoid non-Halal activities such as places that serve alcohol, entertainment venues, and casinos.
6. Gender-specific recreational areas – tour operators aiming to attract Muslim tourists should consider providing private and segregated spaces for men and women, such as gyms, and spas. If necessary, use the same facility, but allocate separate times.

Halal Route App – Eat, Travel, Sleep Halal Style

“Halal Route” is a travel aggregator app that collects searchable information on Halal restaurants, mosques, prayer locations, time and direction for prayers (the qibla), tourist attractions, Muslim villages or communities, hotels, accommodation, etc,” said Mr.Erfun Weahama, Science Service Officer, Halal Route App development team.

“This app is linked to Google Maps to help guide tourists to the desired places with precision. It also supports 3 languages, Thai, English, and Arabic, so that Muslim tourists can live and travel more comfortably and with peace of mind,” Erfun said, indicating 8 great features of the application as follows:

8 menu pages in the Halal Route application

1. Halal Root Menu – is a map of the user’s current location and nearby places such as mosques, restaurants, hotels, accommodations, attractions, etc. It is linked to Google Maps and can show directions to guide the user to the destination.
2. Restaurant Menu – is a directory of Halal restaurants arranged according to categories such as Thai food, Isan food, noodles, street food, etc. When the user selects the desired Halal restaurant, the app will show the details of the restaurant, such as the type of food, the signature dishes, the number of seats, the address, the store phone number, etc., and connects to Google Map for navigation to the restaurant.
3. Accommodation Menu – is a collection of Muslim-friendly hotels in Thailand with details i.e., name, address, facilities (prayer room, halal food), and link to Google Maps.
4. Mosque Menu – This is a map that can show the locations of the mosques near the user’s location, or other pinned locations through Google Maps.
5. Prayer Direction (Qibla) Menu – is a compass to find the right direction for prayer.  Users can also find the coordinates, and prayer time for other pinned locations. 
6. Prayer Time Menu – is a menu that connects the place – day – and prayer time and can be viewed on a specific day or whole month.
7. Islamic Calendar Menu – This displays the Hijri calendar with important days in Islam.
8. HAL-Q menu – is a directory of restaurants that have the potential to develop, and modernize with technology to enter the database of halal Blockchain in the future.

“The research team has added various communication platforms to recommend halal restaurants, review delicious halal menus, quality hotels, and mosques along tourist routes in each region, as well as share stories about Muslim-friendly activities, and exchange knowledge about Islam.” 

Follow and add friends at

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/halalroute.in.th/
• Instagram: halalroute_th
• TikTok: halalroute

Halal Route App – Guaranteed Halal Standard

Dr. Anat Denyingyot, Assistant Director of the Halal Science Center, Chulalongkorn University, emphasized that the highlight of the Halal Route application is the most reliable and comprehensive information on halal tourism in Thailand today.

“All restaurants and locations featured in the application have had on-site visits and are audited according to standards approved by a trusted authority or organization, such as certifications from religious organizations or halal food-related entities, as well as management systems to guarantee and be responsible for halal conditions (the HAL-Q system),” Dr. Anat assured.

Mr. Erfun, a member of the Halal Route App development team, added about his work to reassure users of the app: “My team and I personally went to check the quality of each restaurant and taste the food, sometimes bringing friends and foreign researchers who came to study at the Halal Science Center to eat together. There are many delicious Halal restaurants in Bangkok and Thailand.” (Read more at “3 famous Halal restaurants in the heart of the city”).

In addition to checking the quality of restaurants and services by the Halal Science Center team, Dr. Anat said that users of the application also contribute to the quality check.

“The app has a review feature where users can leave reviews and comments on their experience using the service of the restaurants, and places — which can be considered a quality check as well. This is especially helpful for other users to decide with more confidence.”

Dr. Anat said that the Halal Route application currently has more than 1,100 restaurants in its database, and new locations and services are being updated. The information on restaurants and services in the application covers six main routes in more than 40 provinces from north to south of Thailand that are popular among tourists.

Halal Route suggests 6 main routes:

• Route 1 The southern route (Sadao District, Songkhla – Bangkok) through 12 provinces (excluding the Andaman region) – Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat.
• Route 2 Northern route (Bangkok – Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai) through 16 provinces: Pathum Thani, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Ang Thong, Sing Buri, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Uttaradit, Phrae, Lampang, Lamphun, Chiang Rai, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak, Phayao, Chiang Rai.
• Route 3 Five Northeastern Provinces: Saraburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Nong Khai.
• Route 4 Eastern Seaboard – 5 provinces: Samut Prakan, Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat.
• Route 5 Southern Andaman Region – 5 provinces:  Trang, Krabi, Phang Nga, Phuket, Ranong.
• Route 6 – Three Southern provinces: Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat.

Halal Route Updates and Upgrades Support Halal Tourism in Thailand

Halal Route application has been in use for more than 4 years, with more than ten thousand app downloads reflecting the needs and opportunities of the Halal tourism market. In the future, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Winai revealed that Halal Science Center Chula plans to upgrade the Halal Route application to include food delivery ordering with credit card payment capability.

“Our team of researchers will review existing restaurants’ information to improve the location data, and menu photos, as well as explore new shops, mosques, places to pray. In addition, this year, we will add more information on healthcare facilities, and special events held throughout Thailand that are appropriate for Muslim tourists, such as marathons, traditional Thai events on various holidays, etc.”

“For the Halal Route developer team, this application is not only for navigation, food orders, or providing a convenient tool for Muslim tourists, but it can help the halal tourism industry in Thailand to grow exponentially.”

“And most importantly, the Halal Route application will be a platform that connects Muslim communities from around the world who have the opportunity to visit Thailand,” Prof. Dr. Winai concluded.

Subscribe to the Halal Route application

The Halal Route application is available for free download on both iOS and Android systems.

For the general public, simply download the Halal Route application and register using the phone number or email address. Once logged in, it is ready to use.  Users can select their preferred language from “My Account” menu. The system has 3 languages to choose from: Thai, English, and Arabic.

Tourism business operators interested in including their business on the Halal Route application can contact the Halal Route Facebook page. The staff will contact you for information and inspection of venues and raw materials before uploading your information into the application. After verification by the officers, the restaurant will receive the Halal Route badge as a Halal certification symbol.

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