Unlocking Halal-Friendly Tourism Potential: Assessing the Awareness and Readiness of Tourism and Hospitality Businesses in Vietnam

This study explores the awareness and readiness of tourism and hospitality firms in Vietnam for Halal-friendly tourism development. Data derived from two focus group discussions conducted with experts participating in Halal tourism business forums in Vietnam and Indonesia. Underpinned by a constructivist grounded theory approach, the findings highlight a critical gap: favorable market demand contrasts with ineffective organizational responses, largely attributable to deficiencies in knowledge resources and capability preparedness. This study advances three main contributions. First, it establishes Halal-friendly tourism in non-Muslim-majority countries as a distinctive sub-concept within the wider Halal tourism framework. Vietnam, as an emerging Halal-friendly destination, exemplifies this category; however, the country’s capacity in this sector remains underdeveloped, thereby constraining the service provision and thus appeals primarily to the more ‘easy-going’ segment of the Halal travel market. Second, it enriches existing scholarship through a firm-level perspective, redirecting attention away from policy-and tourist-centered orientations. Third, it extends the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S–O–R) model from individual context to an organization, providing another conceptual framework for evaluating SMEs and leading entrepreneurs within the tourism sector. By identifying these gaps, this study informs strategic dialogues for the sustainable development of Vietnam’s Halal-friendly tourism sector.