The potential of Muslim Friendly Hospitality in the tourism industry in Central Java

This study aims to identify Muslim hospitality potential in the Central Java tourism industry. This research uses a hybrid research method or a Multiphase Mixed Method. Multiphase data were collected simultaneously between qualitative and quantitative data. Data were taken from literature studies, field observations

Java has not applied MFH regulations, the halal tourism industry is practiced in tourism. Central Java has all the potential for Muslim Hospitality with a score of 3.8 out of 5 based on the Indonesian Muslim Travel Index (IMTI) category. The potential for various scenic destinations, polite manner of community, stable and safe political conditions, financial institutions' support, the existence of Islamic boarding schools, and both tangible and intangible Islamic historical heritage are all the strengths of MFH in Central Java. The theoretical implication of this research can be used as a starting point for further research. Whereas the applied implication suggests that the government needs a seed to immediately formulate regulations on Halal Tourism as affirmed by the state.

Introduction
To develop a complete and comprehensive development ecosystem related to the mission of Central Java government, especially in terms of sharia economics i.e. Muslim-friendly tourism sector, programs dealing with development of tourist destinations, tourism marketing, and resource development were generated. 1 People were involved in the field of tourism and creative economy. 2 One prominent example for Muslimfriendly tourism comes from food 3 and beverage sector, within which halal certification 4 is enacted to products of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including MSMEs actors in Islamic boarding schools. The development in the financial sector supporting the sharia economic development ecosystem is also studied, particularly that related to the Sharia Business Unit (UUS) of the Central Java Regional Bank (BPD). UUS functions to fulfill the spin-off requirements no later than 2023, and to provide education, literacy, and innovation/digitalization of sharia finance for Central Java people, both through sharia banking and sharia savings and loan cooperatives (KSPPS).
Muslim-Friendly Hospitality 5 is part of the tourism industry developed by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism. In this regard, however, cultural and political issues still leave problems due to inadequate ideas and understanding. In some provinces, Muslim-friendly hospitality 6 is well perceived thanks to common culture and beliefs. In some provinces, however, the concept faced rejection. Therefore, this research focuses on the provinces preferred by the government 7 to develop Halal Tourism. 8 Central Java is one of the options. This province is chosen based on Law number 10/2019 regarding tourism, Regional Regulation Number 12/2012 concerning the Master Plan for Central Java Tourism Development, and the DSN-MUI/X/2016 Fatwa on Sharia Tourism. Priority has been given as stated by the Four Pillars of Central Java tourism, namely: 1) Development of tourist destinations; 2) Development of tourism marketing; 3) Development of the tourism industry, and 4) Development of tourism institutions Central Java already has a regional development potential map portraying Destinasi Pariwisata Provinsi (provincial tourist destinations, DPP) and their derivatives. There are 6 DPPs over 35 cities/districts, 15 Kawasan Stretegis Pariwisata Provinsi (Provincial Tourism Strategic Area, KSPPs) and 18 Kawasan Pengembangan Pariwisata Provinsi ( Provincial Tourism Strategic, KPPPs) exsist in those 6 DPPs.
The tangible and intangible carrying capacity of the Central Java tourism industry indicates determination of Central Java policymakers 9 to develop tourism included that with halal category. Therefore this study aims to explore and identify the Potential of Muslim Friendly Hospitality in Tourism in Central Java. This research was conducted during Covid-19 pandemic situation, so there might be limitations in this study, especially those related to interviews with key informants, besides limitations of movement. Overcoming the inadequacies was done by sharpening the analysis of tourist areas in Central Java through literary studies.

Central Java Province: an overview
As one of the provinces located in the five biggest islands 10 in Indonesia, Central Java represents a dynamic and developing province.The population of this province is around 32.52 million with balanced portions of 50% men and 50% women spreading over 29 districts and 6 administrative cities. The most populated district is Cilacap with 1,944,857 people. Magelang has the least population of 121,526 people.
Central Java Province is one of the provinces selected to be the pilot project for the development of Indonesian Halal Tourism 11 stated in the first meeting of the IOC International Forum On Islamic Tourism in Jakarta in June 2014. Determining Central Java's great potential in economic development and Islamic finance is in line with the provincial development mission to reduce poverty and unemployment by strengthening the people's economic base and opening up many business spaces.
As a new stream of the national economy, 12 Islamic economy is an important part of development in Central Java. The presence of 4,759 Islamic boarding schools spread over 29 regencies and 6 cities, and 11 industrial areas contributes enormous potency. This circumstance constitutes special strength for Central Java amid the strong flow of development of halal industry in Indonesia. On the financial sector side, asset growth increased by 3.95% (YoY) in the first quarter of 2020 (OJK, 2020). The potency of Central Java's sharia finance was exposed by 550 KSPPS (Sharia Financing Savings and Loans Cooperatives)/BMT active in the first semester of 2020 (Kemenkop, 2020). This turned out to be a valuable asset for the development of the sharia economy. 13 In terms of Muslim-friendly tourism, Central Java received an award from the Indonesia Muslim Travel Index (IMTI) in 2019 as the Leading Muslim-Friendly Tourist Destination. Central Java has 341 Daya Tarik Wisata (tourist attractions, DTW), 158 cultural tours, 295 artificial tours and 66 special interest tours, and 96 other tourist attractions out of overall 1,024 Central Java DTW destinations.

Potential of Muslim Friendly Hospitality
Based on the IMTI assessment (Indonesian Muslim Travel Index), by ACES criteria on Muslim Friendly Hospitality (MFH), Central Java gained an average score of 3.88 out of the maximum point of 5 and the highest score in Sea Access 2. This assessment illustrated that Central Java has a notable comparative advantage. The MFH score of Central Java is displayed in Table 1. On the access side, Central Java's score was remarkably high. The score gain could possibly be higher should there be more international flight available 16 . Currently, the international flights only serve Kuala Lumpur and Singapore through Semarang's Ahmad Yani airport and Jeddah & Medina via Solo's Adi Sumarmo airport. The two international airports also serve domestic flights and have made significant improvements regarding access and airport facilities.
There are 3 domestic airports in Central Java, namely: 1) Dewadaru Airport in Karimun Jawa, 2) Sudirman Airport in Purbalingga, and 3) Tunggulwulung Airport in Cilacap. These three domestic airports serve departures and arrivals of under 50 thousand passengers annually. Accessibility by train is associated with operation of PT KAI, the Indonesian Railway Service. The operation of the Joglosemarkerto train since December 2018 has brought convenience for tourists and business actors. The train service is popularly called Trans Central Java since the route connects several main cities in the central part of the island, i.e. Solo, Yogyakarta, Purwokerto,Tegal, and Semarang. Central Java has fairly good access with the use of trains, and the lines are mainly traversed by the Jakarta -Surabaya and Jakarta Yogyakarta trains.
On the seaside, two main ports, namely Tanjung Emas in Semarang and Karimun Port in Jepara, become access for sea transportation and a stopover for domestic and international cruise ships. At the seaport position, several cruise ships have docked at the Tanjung Emas port. In terms of road infrastructure, Central Java has roads with a total length of 10,932 kms and toll road extends 358.39 kms. Overall this infrastructure is in good condition.
The assessment score on the basis of communication criteria with indicators of Muslim tourist guidance, stakeholder education, market access, 16 Hossein G.T. Olya, and Amr Al-ansi, "Risk Assessment of Halal Products and Services: Implication for Tourism Industry", Tourism Management, Volume 65, (April 2018): 279-291. tour guides and digital marketing is largely good. This province is considered ready to put Muslim-friendly tourism into action. In this regard, Central Java has provided 11,500 copies of the Muslim Visitor Guide in English, with no Arabic ones available. So far, Central Java government has socialized Muslim Friendly Tourism with the theme The Role of Islamic Higher Education on Development of Halal Tourism and Sharia Tourism in Indonesia.
Efforts to create Central Java Halal Tourism market has been initiated, among others by conducting Indonesia -Malaysia Tourism Gathering. To date, there have been 132 people as tour leaders with English language skills, in the absence of ones with Arabic proficiency. Digital marketing in Central Java Province as a means of promotion has had five digital platforms, one of which is My Semarang Travel Guide. Of the total number of foreign visitors, Muslim tourists are around 21%. In addition, free Wifi coverage is available and easy to reach in all Central Java airports, as well as in several public facilities around Central Java tourist destinations. Another valuation from this environmental perspective is the province commitment to Muslim Friendly Tourism, for which Central Java has prepared six main priority destinations, namely: 1) Nusakambangan -Baturaden; 2) Semarang -Karimunjawa, 3) Solo -Sangiran; 4) Borobudur -Dieng, 5) Tegal -Pekalongan, and 6) Rembang -Blora.
On the assessment side, it is based on availability of halal restaurants, mosques, airports, hotels, and attractions. The number of food and restaurant businesses in the Central Java has constantly increased in the last five years. Of the total number of existing restaurants, there are 23 halal-certified restaurants and 886 halal-certified food and beverage outlets. In terms of worship facilities throughout the province, based on statistical data obtained from the Ministry of Religion of Central Java, there are 40,205 mosques and 88,029 prayer rooms. The assessment criteria based on IMTI, on the other hand, revealed the availability of 38 mosques in the province and 125 small mosques/prayer rooms in the vicinity of leading tourist attractions. In addition to these, there are five prayer rooms at the airport, two at Adi Sumarmo International Airport in Solo with ablutions facilities, and three at Ahmad Yani International Airport, Semarang.
Central Java has four sharia hotels, eleven hotels with halal-certified kitchens, 721 hotels that do not provide haram/ forbidden menus for Muslims e.g. pork and alcoholic beverages. On the Attractions side, there are 3,130 places of worship in the shopping centers, 24 Islamic cultural sites, and only six Muslim-friendly spots out of 440 local attractions.

Contribution of the tourism sector to the economy
It is generally acknowledged that the tourism sector constitutes one of the factors acting a strategic role in efforts to enhance the country's foreign exchange. The development of the tourism sector is importantly required to support economic growth and strengthen the external resilience of the Indonesian economy. The contribution of the tourism sector in the Central Java province can be seen in Table 2 below.

Halal industry sector in Central Java
The halal industry 17 sector in Central Java is largely supported by fashion industry, food and beverage, financial industry, banking, and Sharia MSMEs. Exports in the food and beverage industry valued 29,182,824 US $ while the fashion gained as much as 4,705,369 US $. The contribution of the processed food 18 and beverage sector to the economy of Central Java can be seen in the following Table 3. The potential of Muslim Friendly Hospitality in the tourism industry in Central Java (Iskandar, et. Another instance of support comes from the livestock sector. This contributes a great deal of potency for the development of halal tourism in Central Java, in the form of livestock meat and poultry. Depiction of livestock and poultry produced in the province is presented in the following Table 4.

Socio-cultural potential
Social capital in the form of cultural 22 diversity is an unlimited gift in tourism governance. Cultural diversity in the form of local languages, traditional houses, traditional clothes, local arts, traditional ceremonies, traditional weapons, and culinary delights can potentially be tourist attractions. Various local languages with distinctive dialects 23 -among others is Banyumasan--have their peculiarities. The Banyumasan dialect, for instance, might lately go national due to certain elements of intonation in it. This dialect is regarded a funny and distinctive language model. Likewise, a variety of culinary specialties spread throughout Central Java tourist destinations.
Cultural diversity in the province of Central Java is an essential cultural asset that is specific, developed, and unique in the course of its historical process. This asset may functions as a means of developing a regional identity or as a medium for developing understanding in order that social solidarity is formed in communal life. Sometimes the context of culture, customs, and traditions becomes a part of indigenous knowledge as a cultural identity that has an attraction in social interaction and sociocultural relations.
The a cultural value system containing ethical, moral, and social symbols, which become the normative reference of the community 24 in living a social life. Customs and traditions are also reflection of the influence of the religious and belief systems developed in society, as well as the economic system or livelihood. Various forms of culture and customs in the community are essentially manifestations of the expression of social, cultural, and economic systems and even the politics of the people.
The ecological environment in the cultural setting of the province of Central Java cannot be separated from its historical roots where the influence of foreign nations and certain religions was acculturated in the culture of the people of Central Java. The distribution of foreign nations included in the ecological order of Central Java can still be seen today where cultural influences exist, such as Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic cultures on the national side, as well as the influence of the Chinese, and Arabs (Islam) and Europeans. These circumstances ultimately gave the style and characteristics in the form of social organization.
During the royal period or the pre-colonial traditional period, the ruling kings in Central Java adopted the Hindu tradition, then they also adopted the Islamic tradition. The form of state organization, and traditional ceremonies, during the ancient Mataram era, were influenced by Hindu and Islamic culture. Meanwhile, the coastal areas of Central Java such as the north coast, Demak, Rembang, Pati, and Kudus were heavily influenced by Islamic culture, both from Arabia, Persia, and Gujarat.
This maritime structure in the archipelago becomes a power structure as well so that the influence and traces of traditional customs from the Chinese, Arabs, and Europeans increasingly add to the diversity of culture in Central Java. From this influence, it can be classified in general that 24 Fluer Fallon, "Conflict, Power and Tourism on Lombok", Current Issues in Tourism, Volume 4 Number 6 (2001), 481-502. the culture in Central Java is divided into royal palace culture, coastal culture, and agrarian society culture. The cultural 25 setting of the palace was centered in Surakarta/Solo which apparently constituted an ancient urban area. In the ancient Mataram era, a syncretic religious life where a blend of Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic teachings was mixed. The current relics that become a tourist attractions are the traditions of Suronan (i.e. Suro night rituals), Sekaten or Gerebeg, Jamasan Tosan Aji, and other palace processions or rituals. The customs and traditions related to economic life are reflected in Wilujengan national tradition.
The second typology is agrarian culture. The culture of an agrarian society 26 is dominant in rural Central Java. The main activities of agrarian communities are farming; therefore the customs and traditions that are built and developed in this typology are the cultures in the life of farmers. This variety of customs and traditions with an agrarian pattern is also related to religion, life cycle, and economy. Traditions of the village cleaning ritual or village merti, earth alms, jolenan, manganan, into picking necklaces, and others characterize an agrarian typology in which the recognition and worship of nature/earth as a source of life. While the traditions in life which include the life cycle of birth, marriage, and death are also influenced by the three traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.
The third typology in the culture of coastal communities, there are differences in each of the western sub-areas covering Tegal, Pekalongan, the central sub-area covering Kudus, Demak, and its surroundings. The culture of coastal communities 27 is often referred to as a foreign community with economic activities that rely on the sea for trading, fishing, and other marine activities. Traditions that are still heavily developed to this day are sea alms, seaport, and lumbar. Customs related to religious life, life cycle, and the economy of coastal culture are dominated by the influence of Islamic cultural values. Syncretism is also seen in coastal cultures with acculturation of native and Hindu culture.
The three cultures of the people of Central Java, which include palace culture, coastal culture, and agrarian culture have various specific traditions and characterize the local culture of each region. This culture still exists and is maintained amid its supporting community and persists amid globalization. This phenomenon is part of the intangible Muslim-friendly hospitality in Central Java. On the literacy side in Central Java related to Muslim-friendly tourism is considered low. Many people still assume that Muslim-friendly tourism is carrying out the process of Islamization of the tourism industry, as a result, there is still resistance to the development of Muslim-friendly tourism industries in the province of Central Java.

Political potential
In a preliminary interview with the Head of the Youth, Sports and Tourism Office of Central Java province, he stated that sharia-friendly tourism is part of the tourism industry aimed at Muslim tourists to get adequate worship facilities. The availability of hotels that do not provide alcoholic beverages, closed and separate swimming pool facilities, transportation using Islamic concepts, and other facilities are offered. However, in terms of regulation, there is no legal basis that explicitly regulates Muslim-friendly tourism.
The written vision and mission of Muslim-friendly tourism do notexist yet. However, the idea to work on the potential of Muslim-friendly tourism has been started by working on six main destinations in the province of Central Java. Reinforcing the results of a brief interview with the Head of Board of Regional Development Planning (BAPPEDA) for Central Java province also stated that Central Java did not have a specific program or vision and mission related to the development of the Sharia economy. The head of the BAPPEDA office stated that the Muslim population in Central Java reached 96.59% (2019) in 35 cities/districts coupled with an increasing trend of consumption of halal products. In 2019 Central Java received an award for the leading Muslim-friendly tourist destination (ranked 9) from the Ministry of Tourism. Central Java has Sharia Commercial Banks i.e. 10 Large Banks with 155 Offices, 35 Sharia Business Units, and 25 Sharia BPRs in 25 Offices. This potential should be a special concern for the Central Java government to immediately formulate regulations related to the Islamic Economy, Halal Industry, and Muslim Friendly Tourism.
In general, Muslim-friendly tourism in Central Java province-when compared to other 10 provinces, which became pilot projects for the implementation of Muslim-friendly tourism--was in the eighth place. The position was above South Sulawesi, Riau (inland) and Riau Islands. The first order for Muslim-friendly tourism was Lombok, followed by Aceh, Jakarta, West Sumatra, East Java, West Java, and Yogyakarta. This assessment is based on the IMTI (Indonesia Muslim Travel Index) survey, which uses the ACES method in its assessment. In detail the assessment of Muslim-friendly tourism can be seen in Table 5 below:  The results of the inter-institutional linkage analysis can be seen in the following Figure 2.
The picture below explains that in the first quadrant, which has a strong and independent influence and describes the dynamics of the system, the Ministry of Tourism and Bank Indonesia in quadrant 1 is driven from the system and becomes a priority in plans and actions. The second quadrant is often referred to as a relay or intermediate containing Tourism Offices, Governors, Tourist associated, Associated Hotels, Universities, Regents/Mayors, and Transportation Services. Due to its high influence and dependency, within this quadrant institution is often regarded as an unstable variable. Actions in the variables in this second quadrant will cause a domino effect (cascade) on the system and affect the dynamics of the system. The third quadrant is the resultant quadrant, which has a small but very dependent influence; these variables are the Media, the Department of Transportation, and the community. Variables in this third quadrant are outcomes of the input and intermediate. In the fourth quadrant, the excluded or autonomous quadrant has a small effect, small dependency, and low impact on the system so this variable can be ignored. The impact is considered non-significant on the system. The variables in this quadrant are MUI, OJK, and National Banking.

Figure 2. Map of Relationships between Institutions
The direct relationship between institutions can be seen in Figure 3 below. The Department of Tourism has a very strong direct relationship with the Ministry of Tourism, Tourist Associated, Associated Hotels, DinHub, Governor, Community, and Regents/Mayors. BI has a very strong direct relationship with the Banking sector and has a strong direct relationship with the OJK, the Ministry of Tourism, Governors, and Regents/Mayors. MUI has a very strong direct relationship with the community and has a strong relationship with Universities, Banking, and Bank Indonesia. The indirect relationship can be seen in Figure 4 below. The graph above illustrates that in an indirect relationship, the Tourism Office has a very strong indirect relationship with the Media, Transportation Service, Regents, and Mayors, and has a strong indirect relationship with the Governor, Universities, DPU, Associated Hotels, Tourist Associated, BI, while there is a moderate, to very weak indirect, relationship to other institutions. This means that the relationship in the tourism institutional system in this study is dynamic and mutually reinforcing. The potential of MFH in the tourism industry in Central Java gains a high index. In fact, the tourism industry in the province obtains significant support from scenic nature, the sociocultural life of people, a variety of unique cultures and tourist destinations as well as the completeness of tourist options along with an adequate capacity of tourism institutions. Inland visits, coastal tours, and heritage tourism need special attention to develop in order to yield optimum outcomes. The main weakness is, as one of the provinces selected to implement Indonesia's halal tourism, that Central Java has not gained written regulation regarding the development of MFH as affirmed by the state government.
The provincial government needs to encourage the formation of an integrated Halal Industrial Estate (KIH) as announced by the state government to establish 11 KIHs, of which only three have been realized namely KIH Banten, Sidoarjo, and Batam. In this case the tourism industry is included. Slices of theories in cultural, political, economic, social, economic anthropology, and other related studies can be used as a basis for thinking about the development of MFH theory in the future. This research is expected to provide input to the state and regional governments in the preparation of the MFH legal basis. Regulation is the main requirement in the development of MFH in Indonesia since the absence of regulation may result in the less optimum implementation of MFH.