At the Vietnam Halal Tourism Conference 2026, held on July 8 in Khanh Hoa, Vietjet introduced the “Vietnam Halal Connect” initiative—an open collaboration platform designed to connect airlines, airports, local authorities, tourism businesses, hotels, restaurants, Halal certification bodies, and domestic and international technology partners. With a network of more than 135 domestic and international routes, Vietjet aims to turn aviation infrastructure into a digital backbone for the entire Halal service chain, rather than leaving aviation on the sidelines as a mere transportation service.
A network of more than 135 domestic and international routes provides the foundational infrastructure for Vietjet to implement the Vietnam Halal Connect initiative.
Addressing the Bottleneck Experts Have Warned About
The initiative comes at a time when international experts have repeatedly pointed out that Vietnam lacks an integrated service ecosystem for Muslim travelers—from accommodation, dining, and certification to digital experiences. At the conference, Mr. Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating and HalalTrip, noted that around 80% of Muslim travelers now use artificial intelligence (AI) to plan their trips. If Halal service data is not standardized in a format that AI can read and verify, destinations risk becoming “invisible” to travelers. If implemented effectively, “Vietnam Halal Connect” could provide the shared data and platform infrastructure needed to address this challenge across sectors, instead of leaving each locality or business to build fragmented solutions on its own.
Context: Vietnam Is Climbing the Rankings but Still Operating Below Its Potential
According to the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI), Vietnam rose from 43rd place in 2018 to 25th place in 2026—a significant improvement. However, of the more than 21 million international visitors to Vietnam in 2025, only slightly more than 600,000 were Muslim travelers, accounting for less than 3% of total arrivals. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang described this share as “still relatively modest compared with the potential.” Meanwhile, around 65% of international Muslim travelers—equivalent to nearly 128 million trips—move within Asian travel corridors. This means Vietnam’s growth opportunity lies in its nearest geographic markets, without the need to compete directly with distant destinations in the Middle East or North Africa.
The Missing Link: Connecting Transport Infrastructure with Certification Infrastructure
A notable feature of “Vietnam Halal Connect” is its proactive inclusion of Halal certification bodies on the same platform as aviation and accommodation providers, rather than treating certification as a separate procedure completed before a business enters the market. This approach is consistent with the direction of the National Halal Certification Center (HALCERT), under the National Commission for Standards, Metrology and Quality, which is currently promoting mutual-recognition arrangements with international Halal authorities such as JAKIM (Malaysia), BPJPH (Indonesia), and SMIIC. When transport, accommodation, and certification infrastructure operate together on a shared data platform, Vietnamese businesses—including those in Khanh Hoa—will have an opportunity to significantly reduce the time and cost required to reach Muslim travelers in a systematic and professional manner.
Conclusion
A digital infrastructure initiative such as “Vietnam Halal Connect” will not automatically deliver results without coordinated participation from the other essential links—local authorities, accommodation businesses, and certification bodies. Nevertheless, it sends an important signal: Vietnam’s private sector has begun proactively building connectivity infrastructure for the Halal economy, rather than merely waiting for a legal framework from the state. In an industry where trust and data verifiability matter no less than product quality, this could become a genuinely differentiating step toward the position Vietnam is pursuing as a “new destination for Halal tourism.”
Sources: Tin Tuc Newspaper (Vietnam News Agency), VTC News, Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper, and the HALCERT Information Portal.
