JAKARTA – Indonesia is stepping up efforts to strengthen its Muslim-friendly tourism sector by offering one million free Halal certifications to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) across the country.

The initiative is being led by the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism. According to BPJPH’s Head, Ahmad Haikal Hasan, the joint effort is both strategic and necessary given the overlapping objectives of both agencies.

“It’s important to establish synergy through joint programmes that support and enhance one another, so the benefits can reach broader segments of society,” Haikal said, as reported by Antara News.

The free Halal certification programme, known as SEHATI, targets one million Halal certificates to be issued by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism has developed more than 6,000 tourism villages across the nation, creating a natural synergy between Halal compliance and tourism development.

“This is a productive collaboration, especially in advancing Muslim-friendly tourism, where the availability of Halal-certified products plays a key role,” Haikal explained.

He highlighted Indonesia’s vast potential in the Halal industry and Muslim-friendly tourism, driven by abundant local resources and growing infrastructure. Haikal called for stronger cross-sectoral collaboration among all relevant stakeholders to fully optimise this potential.

“We have high-quality tourism villages across the archipelago that are globally competitive,” he said, adding that BPJPH currently serves a Halal market involving 64 million business players, supported by more than 100,000 Halal Product Process Companions (P3H).

The focus now, he said, is to ensure Halal-certified products are readily available at tourist destinations and to adopt strategic measures to promote Indonesian Halal tourism on the global stage.

Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana also voiced her full support for the collaboration. She confirmed that both agencies will jointly visit over 20 tourism villages, with the ultimate aim of reaching more than 6,100 locations to roll out free Halal certification.

“We’re excited to work closely with BPJPH. Strong communication and promotion are vital to restoring Indonesia’s position as a leading global travel destination,” she said, adding that a coordination meeting involving key stakeholders will be held soon.

Source: Kini Halal.