Investigating the patterns in halal tourism and marketing: sentiment analysis and topic modelling using Latent Dirichlet Allocation

This paper identifies the patterns in halal tourism and marketing from scholarly literature using sentiment analysis and the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) technique. Positive sentiments were found to be associated with the theme of study. Five main themes established via topic modelling are the growth of the Islamic and halal industry, Muslim-friendly tourism practice, religious/cultural tourism experience, Islamic branding and consumer loyalty in the hospitality industry, and crisis management in tourism. Results indicate that successful understanding and meeting of expectations among Muslim consumers are associated with six key attributes: halal certification, respect for their cultural preferences when providing services, as well cultivating loyalty to the brand. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that digital platforms are crucial for halal tourism marketing and attracting Muslim consumers. The research offers managerial implications for marketers focusing on Muslim travel and calls attention to the importance of uniform halal standards to maintain consumer trust.