HALALTRIP LAUNCHES HALAL FOOD RATING APP
Dubai, 19 Rabi’ul Awwal 1435/10 January 2015 (MINA) – Finding halal food just got easier. Singapore-based HalalTrip has launched an app that allows people to rate and share halal food across the world.
The free app, which is available for Apple iOS and Android devices, “ [makes] place discovery and trip planning for millions of travellers easier, fun and more intuitive than ever,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Through the app, which has an Arabic and English user interface, users can take a photo of a halal dish, write a review and share it on social media. People that view the photo can then locate the restaurant that serves the dish, explained Fazal Bahardeen, chief executive of HalalTrip, gulfnews quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Friday.
“We want to make it easier and more fun for people to plan trips, and discover very important things that influence their travelling decisions such as places to eat along their journey. They can then share this with their network and other travellers,” he said.
Islam requires Muslims to consume halal products, which basically do not contain alcohol or pork. Stunning an animal before slaughter is viewed by some scholars as not complying with Sharia, making the food non-halal.
Bahardeen launched the app because of growing demand for halal food and more visual halal food applications, he said.
The halal tourism sector was worth $140 billion in 2013. By 2020, that figure is expected to reach $192 billion, according to CrescentRating, the sister company of HalalTrip.
He expects strong demand for the app from UAE travellers because “more of them are travelling abroad and discovering new destinations.”
The app also gives Muslims access to prayer timings and directions while on board a plane. It will have additional features like city guides and hotel booking in the short-term, the company said.(T/P009/P3)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
