Towards a Sustainable Halal Tourism Model: A Systematic Review of the Integration of Islamic Principles with Global Sustainability Goals

Abstract

This systematic literature review examines the scholarly discourse and research trends on the integration of Islamic principles with global sustainability goals in halal tourism, addressing research gaps in understanding how this growing market sector contributes to sustainable development. The study analyzes halal certification frameworks, evaluates government support mechanisms, and assesses the role of digital technologies in enhancing halal tourism operations and sustainability. Following the PRISMA methodology, we conducted a comprehensive search of the Scopus database using a structured three-component Boolean strategy that yielded 78 documents. After applying inclusion criteria (peer-reviewed publications from 2015 to 2025 addressing halal tourism and sustainability) and exclusion criteria (studies examining concepts in isolation or lacking theoretical contributions), 62 publications were systematically analyzed using bibliometric analysis and Structural Topic Modeling. The analysis identified three distinct research clusters: Sustainable Tourism and Development (51.72%), Halal Tourism and Entrepreneurship (37.93%), and Technology and Digitalization (17.24%). A significant temporal shift in research priorities was observed, with entrepreneurship studies declining while sustainability integration and technological applications gained momentum, particularly post-pandemic. This review develops an integrated conceptual framework connecting religious principles, sustainability imperatives, and technological innovation—three domains previously examined in isolation—through nine interrelated variables across three theoretical pillars: Halal Principles Integration, Sustainability Implementation, and Digital Transformation. The framework provides destination managers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs with a foundation for developing strategies that simultaneously satisfy religious requirements, achieve sustainability outcomes, and leverage digital innovations, advancing a more inclusive understanding of tourism that respects diverse cultural values while addressing global sustainability challenges.

1. Introduction

The global tourism industry has undergone significant transformations in recent years, driven by the increasing demand for sustainable and culturally sensitive travel experiences (Pencarelli, 2020). Among these emerging trends, halal tourism has gained substantial traction, particularly as the global Muslim population continues to grow and seek travel options that align with their religious and ethical values (Wazin et al., 2024). Halal tourism, defined as travel that adheres to Islamic principles, encompasses not only dietary and accommodation requirements, but also broader considerations such as environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical business practices (Rasul, 2019). This niche market has become a significant contributor to the global tourism economy, with Muslim travelers projected to spend over USD 300 billion by 2026 (Rehman, 2022). However, the rapid growth of halal tourism has also raised critical questions about its alignment with global sustainability goals, particularly the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Ahmad et al., 2024).

Islamic teachings emphasize environmental stewardship, social equity, and ethical economic practices, which align closely with the SDGs (I. Setiawan, 2023). Despite this natural synergy, there is a lack of research on how halal tourism can effectively contribute to sustainable development. Existing studies have primarily focused on the economic potential of halal tourism (Santoso & Cahyani, 2022), with limited exploration of its environmental and social impacts. Furthermore, the implementation of halal certifications, such as the Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environment (CHSE) framework, and the role of digital technologies in enhancing halal tourism operations, remain underexplored (Rizkitama et al., 2024). For instance, while digital tools like big data analytics and artificial intelligence are transforming the tourism industry, their potential to enhance Sharia compliance and customer experience in halal tourism has not been thoroughly investigated (Siddique et al., 2024). Additionally, the effectiveness of government policies in promoting sustainable halal tourism practices and their alignment with SDGs 8, 12, and 16 requires further examination (Marlina et al., 2024; Penelitian et al., 2024).

This fragmentation in the literature stems from interconnected structural and epistemological barriers that have historically prevented integrative approaches. Disciplinary silos have created artificial boundaries where religious tourism studies emerged from anthropological traditions emphasizing cultural authenticity, sustainability research developed within environmental sciences prioritizing quantitative metrics, and technology adoption studies originated from information systems focusing on innovation diffusion models (Rahman et al., 2022; Pencarelli, 2020). These distinct methodological traditions, reinforced by institutional funding structures and academic organization around single-discipline frameworks, have created epistemological barriers and structural disincentives for cross-disciplinary integration. Additionally, perceived conceptual incommensurability has discouraged researchers from attempting integrative frameworks, as traditional sustainability’s universal metrics appear incompatible with context-specific religious requirements, while rapid technological change creates temporal misalignment with established religious practices and long-term sustainability goals (Siddique et al., 2024).

The convergence of global Muslim population growth, climate urgency, and digital transformation creates unprecedented conditions that necessitate moving beyond these historical fragmentations. Market-driven research priorities have further perpetuated isolation by focusing on immediate commercial applications rather than theoretical integration, with existing halal tourism studies predominantly examining economic potential rather than comprehensive frameworks simultaneously addressing religious compliance, environmental stewardship, and technological innovation (Battour et al., 2022; Rehman, 2022). These converging forces create complex interdependencies that existing fragmented approaches cannot adequately address, establishing the theoretical necessity for our integrative conceptual model that operationalizes the natural synergies between Islamic principles—which inherently emphasize environmental stewardship, social justice, and ethical business practices—and contemporary sustainability and technology paradigms.

This study employs a systematic literature review methodology to analyze existing research rather than conducting primary empirical investigation. Our approach focuses on examining scholarly discourse, publication trends, and theoretical development within the halal tourism and sustainability literature to develop an integrative conceptual framework to address these gaps by critically examining the alignment between Islamic principles and global sustainability goals in halal tourism. This study is guided by three specific objectives: (1) to systematically identify and analyze the implementation frameworks of halal certifications, particularly CHSE, measuring their effectiveness in promoting sustainable practices across multiple destinations through established environmental and religious compliance metrics; (2) to evaluate the relationship between government support mechanisms and economic outcomes in halal tourism enterprises, specifically quantifying the impact of policy interventions on business sustainability, job creation, and alignment with SDGs 8, 12, and 16; and (3) to assess the role of digital technologies in transforming halal tourism operations, measuring how big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and social media platforms contribute to customer experience enhancement, Sharia compliance verification, and female entrepreneurship development using documented case studies that demonstrate measurable outcomes in market penetration, customer satisfaction, and inclusion metrics. By addressing these objectives, this study seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of how halal tourism can contribute to sustainable development while adhering to Islamic principles.

This article proceeds as follows: Section 2 outlines our PRISMA-based methodology and multi-stage analytical approach. Section 3 presents bibliometric analysis results and topic identification revealing three research clusters. Section 4 classifies the literature across Halal Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Tourism and Development, and Technology and Digitalization themes. Section 5 concludes with our integrated conceptual framework connecting these domains and discusses implications for sustainable halal tourism development. It is important to note that this study focuses on analyzing scientific production and research trends within halal tourism literature rather than examining tourism practices themselves. Our investigation centers on understanding how academic research has evolved in addressing the intersection of Islamic principles, sustainability, and technology within tourism scholarship.

2. Material and Methods

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology was selected for this study to ensure a systematic, transparent, and reproducible approach to literature identification and selection. PRISMA provides a structured framework that minimizes bias in the selection process while maximizing the comprehensiveness of the literature review (Page & Moher, 2017; Rattanawiboonsom & Khan, 2024). This study employs a methodologically rigorous approach, which is essential for synthesizing dispersed interdisciplinary research on halal tourism and sustainability. The review protocol was executed through a comprehensive search of the Scopus database using a structured three-component Boolean strategy that combined key terminologies: (“halal tourism” OR “Muslim-friendly travel” OR “Shariah-compliant tourism”) AND (“sustainability” OR “sustainable tourism” OR “responsible tourism”) AND (“SDGs” OR “United Nations sustainability goals” OR “global sustainability initiatives”). This initial query yielded 78 documents, which were subsequently refined through systematic application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion parameters encompassed peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and review papers published in English from 2015 onward—aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ adoption—that explicitly addressed the intersection of halal tourism and sustainability practices within relevant disciplinary domains (Social Sciences, Environmental Science, Business, Management and Accounting, Computer Science, Energy, Economics, Econometrics and Finance, or Arts and Humanities). Publications providing substantive theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, or empirical findings on Shariah-compliant tourism integration with sustainable development were prioritized. Conversely, the exclusion protocol eliminated publications that examined halal tourism or sustainability in isolation, non-peer-reviewed materials, studies lacking substantive theoretical or practical contributions, duplicate publications, and research with exclusively local contexts lacking broader global sustainability implications. This systematic filtering process resulted in a final corpus of 62 publications that comprehensively address the research objective of examining the integration between halal tourism practices and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as illustrated in Figure 1.

3. Results

The following analysis examines research trends and scholarly attention within the halal tourism literature, reflecting academic priorities and publication patterns rather than practical implementation assessments.

3.1. Descriptives

Table 1. Main information of records.

Description	Results
Timespan	2015:2025
Sources (journals, books, etc.)	33
Documents	62
Annual growth rate %	44.22
Document average age	1.56
Average citations per doc	6.581
References	5285
Keywords Plus (ID)	130
Author’s Keywords (DE)	253
Authors	216
Authors of single-authored docs	7
Single-authored docs	7
Co-authors per doc	3.79
International co-authorships %	37.1
Articles	51
Book chapters	8
Reviews	3

, showing the main information on halal tourism and sustainability, reveals several significant trends in this emerging research domain. The collection comprises 62 documents from 33 distinct sources, predominantly consisting of journal articles (82.3%), with smaller proportions of book chapters (12.9%) and review papers (4.8%). The notable annual growth rate of 44.22% indicates rapidly expanding scholarly interest in the integration of halal tourism with sustainability frameworks. The relatively young average document age of 1.56 years further confirms the contemporary nature of this research area, while the average citation rate of 6.581 per document demonstrates moderate scholarly impact for this developing field.

The keyword analysis identifies 253 author-supplied keywords and 130 system-generated keywords, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of this research domain and its emphasis on both Islamic principles and environmental sustainability. The authorship analysis reveals substantial collaborative tendencies, with 216 authors contributing to the literature corpus, averaging 3.79 co-authors per document. Only 11.3% of publications have single authors, highlighting the interdisciplinary collaboration prevalent in this field. The international collaboration rate of 37.1% indicates significant cross-border research partnerships, suggesting global recognition of halal tourism’s potential contribution to sustainable development goals. This study adopts core elements of the PRISMA framework for systematic literature identification and selection while adapting the methodology to accommodate bibliometric analysis and topic modeling approaches. While we implement essential PRISMA components including structured search strategy, explicit inclusion/exclusion criteria, and transparent reporting, we acknowledge partial rather than full PRISMA 2020 compliance, particularly regarding protocol pre-registration requirements.

In addition, Figure 2 illustrates the annual publication volume on sustainable halal tourism from 2015 to 2025, revealing a distinct pattern of growth characterized by three distinct phases. The initial period (2015–2019) demonstrates modest but consistent scholarly interest, with annual publication rates ranging from 1 to 3 articles per year, establishing the foundational literature in this emerging interdisciplinary field. This period coincides with the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, which likely stimulated initial academic interest in connecting halal tourism with broader sustainability frameworks. A notable gap appears in 2020, potentially attributable to research disruptions during the global COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly impacted tourism research priorities and data collection capabilities worldwide. The post-pandemic period (2021–2025) marks a dramatic acceleration in research output, with exponential growth beginning in 2022 (10 publications), continuing through 2023 (11 publications), and peaking in 2024 with 22 publications—representing a tenfold increase compared to the field’s early years. This surge reflects the growing recognition of halal tourism as a significant market segment requiring specialized sustainability frameworks. The partial data for 2025 (seven publications) suggests continued robust scholarly engagement, considering these figures represent only the first quarter of the year. This temporal analysis demonstrates the rapidly expanding academic interest in aligning Islamic principles with global sustainability goals in tourism contexts, coinciding with the growing economic significance of the Muslim travel market and increasing focus on sustainable development in the global tourism industry.

Furthermore, Figure 3 depicts the distribution of publications across the primary academic sources contributing to halal tourism and sustainability research. The visualization reveals a relatively fragmented publishing landscape, with the “Journal of Islamic Marketing” emerging as the predominant outlet, accounting for seven publications (11.3% of the corpus). This journal’s prominence highlights the strong marketing and business orientation in this research domain. Following this leader, a second tier of influential sources includes “Tourism Management Perspectives” and “International Journal of Tourism Research” with five publications each, and “Journal of Sustainable Tourism” with four publications. These journals represent mainstream tourism research platforms that have recognized the significance of halal tourism’s intersection with sustainability.

The third tier comprises specialized journals such as “Current Issues in Tourism” and “International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage” with three publications each, reflecting the multi-dimensional nature of this research area spanning both conventional tourism studies and religious tourism contexts. This distribution pattern indicates that research on halal tourism and sustainability, while gaining traction in specialized Islamic business journals, is increasingly permeating established tourism research outlets.

3.2. Multi-Stage Data Analysis Framework

Figure 4 illustrates the three-stage methodological approach employed in this study to comprehensively analyze the integration of halal tourism with Sustainable Development Goals. The visual representation depicts a sequential filtration and analysis process, where each stage builds upon the previous one while progressively refining and extracting deeper insights from the literature corpus. The methodology begins with the PRISMA framework for systematic identification and selection of relevant documents, establishing a rigorous foundation through structured inclusion and exclusion criteria that yielded 62 publications for analysis. This initial stage is followed by Bibliomatrix Analysis, which maps the literature landscape and identifies publication trends, collaborative networks, and influential sources—revealing the 44.22% annual growth rate and predominance of the Journal of Islamic Marketing as the leading publication outlet. The final stage employs machine learning-based Structural Topic Modeling (STM), which algorithmically identifies latent themes and conceptual relationships within the literature that might not be immediately apparent through traditional review methods.

3.3. Bibliometric Analysis

RStudio’s Bibliophagy package was selected for bibliometric analysis due to its comprehensive visualization capabilities and robust statistical framework for analyzing scientific literature (Tafese & Kopp, 2025). This R-based open-source tool provides significant advantages through its interactive web interface, allowing for sophisticated examination of publication patterns, collaboration networks, and thematic evolution while maintaining methodological transparency and reproducibility in the analysis of halal tourism and sustainability research. Figure 5 presents a word cloud visualization that effectively captures the conceptual landscape of the sustainable halal tourism literature corpus. The visualization reveals that “halal tourism” and “sustainable development goals (SDGs)” emerge as the most prominent keywords (both with a frequency of 7), establishing them as the central conceptual pillars of this research domain. “Halal entrepreneurship” follows closely (frequency of 6), indicating its significance as a key operational framework through which Islamic principles are translated into business practices within the tourism sector. The terms “sustainability” and “tourism” (both with a frequency of 5) form the foundational concepts that connect religious compliance with broader industry practices. Indonesia’s notable presence (frequency of 4) signifies its position as a leading case study for halal tourism implementation within the literature. The visualization also highlights the interdisciplinary nature of this field through the presence of technology-related terms (“big data,” “digitalization,” and “social media”), financial concepts (“Islamic finance”), and analytical approaches (“bibliometric analysis”). This multidimensional keyword distribution demonstrates how sustainable halal tourism research operates at the intersection of religious principles, business innovation, technological advancement, and global sustainability initiatives, with particular emphasis on translating conceptual frameworks (SDGs) into practical implementation strategies for the rapidly evolving Muslim travel market.

In addition, the network analysis of key terms in

Table 2. Network analysis of key terms.

Term	Betweenness	Closeness	PageRank
Islamic	1.292	0.018	0.018
entrepreneurship	0.53	0.016	0.012
literature	1.832	0.019	0.02
paper	1.161	0.018	0.017
theory	0.203	0.016	0.011
entrepreneurs	0.279	0.014	0.009
tourism	5.314	0.019	0.029
research	19.872	0.02	0.045
sustainable	9.192	0.02	0.034
study	17.332	0.02	0.044
development	9.725	0.02	0.035
data	11.386	0.02	0.035
sustainability	2.071	0.019	0.021
industry	3.367	0.019	0.02
analysis	5.429	0.02	0.026
Indonesia	2.945	0.019	0.02
results	5.152	0.02	0.026
management	0.538	0.017	0.013
significant	2.394	0.02	0.02
factors	1.254	0.019	0.016
model	1.004	0.018	0.015
aims	4.68	0.02	0.024
support	0.967	0.019	0.015
influence	1.627	0.018	0.016
method	1.466	0.019	0.021
rights	2.215	0.018	0.02
success	0.157	0.014	0.007
halal	6.811	0.02	0.024
social	4.145	0.019	0.027
findings	8.729	0.02	0.033
economic	2.106	0.019	0.019
practices	2.203	0.019	0.022
authors	4.569	0.02	0.025
implications	2.588	0.019	0.025
SDGSs	0.356	0.017	0.014
environmental	1.952	0.019	0.018
economy	0.954	0.018	0.016
approach	1.544	0.019	0.023
based	2.308	0.019	0.019
impact	2.134	0.019	0.018
digital	0.052	0.014	0.008
framework	0.886	0.019	0.017
growth	0.843	0.018	0.017
purpose	2.585	0.019	0.019
role	1.327	0.018	0.013
developing	1	0.018	0.017
tourist	0.838	0.016	0.013
performance	0.469	0.015	0.01
destination	0.18	0.015	0.009
satisfaction	0.038	0.013	0.007

below illustrates that the halal tourism and sustainable development literature corpus reveals important semantic relationships and conceptual centrality within this research domain. The metrics indicate that “research” (Betweenness: 19.872, PageRank: 0.045) and “study” (Betweenness: 17.332, PageRank: 0.044) function as the primary connective terms within the scholarly discourse, serving as bridges between multiple thematic clusters. This suggests that methodological considerations play a pivotal role in organizing knowledge within this field. Close behind these terms, “data” (Betweenness: 11.386, PageRank: 0.035), “development” (Betweenness: 9.725, PageRank: 0.035), and “sustainable” (Betweenness: 9.192, PageRank: 0.034) demonstrate high connectivity, indicating their importance in linking various research perspectives. Notably, “halal” (Betweenness: 6.811, PageRank: 0.024) shows strong but not dominant connectivity, suggesting it operates more as a contextual framework rather than the central focus of discussions. The moderate betweenness scores for terms like “tourism” (5.314), “analysis” (5.429), and “social” (4.145) further reflect the multidisciplinary nature of this research domain, bridging economic, environmental, and socio-cultural aspects. Interestingly, “SDGs” shows relatively low connectivity (Betweenness: 0.356, PageRank: 0.014), indicating that while sustainable development goals provide a conceptual foundation, they may not be explicitly centered in methodological approaches or empirical analyses. This network analysis effectively captures the complex interrelationships between Islamic principles, tourism practices, and sustainability frameworks, highlighting opportunities for more integrated conceptual frameworks in future research.

Furthermore, Figure 6 presents a sophisticated network visualization that maps the conceptual relationships and thematic clusters within the sustainable halal tourism literature. At the center of this knowledge structure lie three dominant nodes—“sustainable,” “halal,” and “tourism”—forming the core conceptual framework around which the research domain is organized. These central terms exhibit the highest frequency of co-occurrence and serve as connective hubs linking various thematic clusters. The visualization reveals several distinct yet interconnected research communities: a development-focused cluster (purple) emphasizing “goals,” “SDGs,” and “review” approaches; an entrepreneurship ecosystem (red and orange) connecting “entrepreneurs,” “communities,” “perspective,” and “management”; a government policy dimension (yellow) linking “government,” “behavior,” and “support”; and an innovation-oriented cluster (blue) incorporating “performance,” “industry,” “innovation,” and “developing” contexts. The visualization effectively demonstrates how “Indonesia” emerges as a significant research setting, positioned at the intersection of halal frameworks and tourism applications. Methodological approaches are represented through terms like “bibliometric,” “analysis,” and “analytical,” indicating the field’s evolving research methodologies. The network structure further illustrates how concepts like “chain,” “model,” “impact,” and “challenges” serve as bridging concepts that connect different research communities, facilitating knowledge exchange across disciplinary boundaries. This visualization provides compelling evidence of sustainable halal tourism as an emerging interdisciplinary field that integrates religious principles, business innovation, policy frameworks, and sustainable development paradigms.

Clusters/Theme Identification

Table 3. Strategic positioning analysis of research clusters in sustainable halal tourism.

Cluster	Callon Centrality	Callon Density	Rank Centrality	Rank Density	Cluster Frequency
Technology and Digitalization	0.25	50	11	6.5	2
Sustainable Tourism and Development	1.286	151.571	37	12.5	35
Halal Entrepreneurship	0.367	178.819	23	33	28

presents a strategic positioning analysis of three primary research clusters within the sustainable halal tourism literature, quantified through Callon’s centrality and density metrics. The Sustainable Tourism and Development cluster demonstrates the highest strategic significance (centrality = 1.286) and well-developed internal coherence (density = 151.571), positioning it as the dominant thematic framework with substantial cross-disciplinary connections (rank 37 for centrality) and established theoretical foundations (rank 12.5 for density). With 30 publications, this cluster represents the field’s conceptual core. The Halal Entrepreneurship cluster exhibits moderate strategic positioning (centrality = 0.367) but demonstrates the strongest internal cohesion (density = 178.819), indicating a specialized, well-developed research niche with focused methodological approaches (rank 33 for centrality, rank 23 for density) represented across 22 publications. In contrast, the Technology and Digitalization cluster shows emerging strategic relevance (centrality = 0.25) with moderate internal development (density = 50), suggesting its position as an evolving research frontier that has established initial connections with other thematic areas (rank 11 for centrality) while still developing its theoretical foundations (rank 6.5 for density), currently comprising only 10 publications. This strategic positioning analysis reveals a research landscape with a well-established sustainability core, a specialized entrepreneurship domain, and an emerging technological frontier, illustrating the field’s progressive evolution from foundational sustainability frameworks toward innovative applications in entrepreneurship and digital transformation.

3.4. Topics/Themes Identified Through STM

A Structural Topic Model (STM) approach was selected for this research due to its advanced capabilities in uncovering latent thematic structures while accounting for document-level metadata, which is particularly crucial for analyzing the evolution of robotics research (Tamakloe & Park, 2023). STM extends traditional topic modeling by incorporating document-level covariates, enabling the examination of how research themes vary across different journals and time periods (Sharma et al., 2021).

First, the document-topic attention distribution is modeled using a logistic-normal distribution:

$${\theta }_d|X_d,\Gamma ,\Sigma ~LogisticNormal({\mu }_d,\Sigma )$$

(1)

In Equation (1), X_d represents the vector of covariates for document d, Γ is the matrix of coefficients capturing the relationship between covariates and topic prevalence, and Σ is the covariance matrix for the topics (on the logistic scale).

Second, the topic-word distributions are formed by combining multiple components:

$$logP(word=v|topic=k,y_d)\propto m_v+{\kappa }_{k,v}+{\kappa }_{y_d,v}+{\kappa }_{y_d,k,v}$$

(2)

In Equation (2), m_v represents the baseline log frequency of word v, κ_k,v captures the deviation specific to topic k, ${\kappa }_{y_d,v}$ captures the main effect of covariate y_d on the word, and ${\kappa }_{y_d,k,v}$ captures potential interaction effects between the topic and the covariate. These log probabilities are then exponentiated and normalized (e.g., via softmax) across the vocabulary V to yield the final topic-word probability distributions, denoted ${\beta }_{{k,y}_d}$. If no content covariates are used, this simplifies to β_k.

Third, the topic assignment for each word follows a multinomial distribution:

$$z_{d,n}|{\theta }_d~Multinomial({\theta }_d)$$

(3)

Finally, the observed words are generated conditionally on their topics:

$$w_{d,n}|z_{d,n},\beta ,y_d~Multinomial({\beta }_{k=z_{d,n},y_d})$$

(4)

In Equation (4) β represents the collection of all topic-word distributions, and ${\beta }_{k=z_{d,n},y_d}$ is the specific distribution for the assigned topic k = z_d,n given the document’s content covariates y_d.

This mathematical framework enables STM to effectively model relationships between document metadata and topical content while maintaining computational tractability through variational inference methods (Roberts et al., 2019).

Figure 7 illustrates the proportional distribution of the three primary research clusters identified within the sustainable halal tourism literature corpus. The visualization reveals that Sustainable Tourism and Development represents the dominant research theme, accounting for 51.72% of the analyzed publications. This majority share demonstrates the field’s strong orientation toward integrating halal tourism practices with established sustainability frameworks and development goals. Halal Tourism and Entrepreneurship emerges as the second most prominent cluster with 37.93% representation, indicating substantial scholarly interest in business models, market opportunities, and operational frameworks that align Islamic principles with commercial viability in the tourism sector. Technology and Digitalization appears as an emerging research frontier with 17.24% representation, reflecting the nascent but growing attention paid to technological applications, digital marketing strategies, and innovative platforms supporting halal tourism operations. The proportional distribution across these three clusters provides valuable insights into the field’s current research priorities and evolutionary trajectory, suggesting a progressive development from foundational sustainability frameworks toward entrepreneurial applications and technological innovations.

In addition, Figure 8 of showing the correlation matrix visualization provides critical insights into the thematic relationships among the three identified research clusters in the sustainable halal tourism literature. The diagonal elements uniformly display perfect positive correlations (1.00) as expected, representing each cluster’s internal consistency. The off-diagonal elements reveal nuanced interconnections between research domains. Notably, there exists a moderate negative correlation (−0.42) between Cluster 1 (Halal Tourism and Entrepreneurship) and Cluster 2 (Sustainable Tourism and Development), suggesting these represent somewhat divergent research approaches with limited conceptual overlap; scholars focusing on business dimensions tend to employ different methodological frameworks than those emphasizing sustainability integration. More pronounced negative correlations appear between Cluster 3 (Technology and Digitalization) and both Cluster 1 (−0.55) and Cluster 2 (−0.45), indicating that technological research in this field has developed as a relatively distinct domain with specialized methodologies and conceptual frameworks that diverge from both entrepreneurial and sustainability-oriented approaches. This correlation structure reveals a research landscape characterized by complementary rather than integrated thematic clusters, where each domain contributes unique perspectives to the collective understanding of sustainable halal tourism

The topic prevalence analysis reveals a significant transformation in sustainable halal tourism research priorities over the 2015–2025 decade. Topic 1 (Halal Tourism and Entrepreneurship) demonstrates a clear declining trajectory from its dominant position (0.59) in 2015 to a more specialized role (0.26) by 2025, reflecting the maturation of foundational business frameworks. Simultaneously, Topic 2 (Sustainable Tourism and Development) exhibits steady growth from 0.10 to 0.41, indicating increasing prioritization of sustainability principles within the field. Most remarkably, Topic 3 (Technology and Digitalization) shows exponential growth from near-absence (below 0.05) in early years to substantial representation (0.41) by 2025, accelerating notably after 2020 in alignment with pandemic-driven digital transformation. The confidence intervals across all topics demonstrate progressive methodological refinement, with initial variability giving way to more standardized approaches. By 2025, the three research clusters converge toward balanced representation, suggesting an integrated research landscape that holistically addresses business viability, environmental responsibility, and technological advancement in sustainable halal tourism. Figure 9 below illustrates the topic prevalence indicators of each cluster from 2015 to 2025.

Table 4. Analysis of research clusters in tourism.

Cluster	Keywords	Topic Description	Top Words (General Theme)	Top Words (Specific Factors)	Top Words (Emerging Trends)
Halal Tourism and Entrepreneurship	halal tourism, entrepreneurship, business opportunities, Islamic tourism market	Business opportunities and market growth in halal tourism	tourism, use, develop	halal, sustain, tourism	tourism, sustain, develop
Sustainable Tourism and Development	sustainable tourism, tourism development, eco-friendly travel, responsible tourism	Strategies for eco-friendly and responsible travel	tourism, use, develop	halal, sustain, tourism	tourism, sustain, develop
Technology and Digitalization in Tourism	technology in tourism, digital tourism, smart tourism, AI in hospitality	Innovations in digital tourism and AI applications	tourism, use, develop	halal, sustain, tourism	tourism, sustain, develop

presents a structured analysis of three major research clusters identified within the tourism literature, highlighting how key themes are organized and interconnected through keyword analysis. The first cluster, “Halal Tourism and Entrepreneurship,” focuses on business opportunities and market growth within the Islamic tourism sector. This research area explores how entrepreneurs can develop offerings aligned with Islamic principles while capitalizing on the growing global Muslim travel market. The general theme revolves around practical applications (“tourism, use, develop”), while specific factors emphasize the halal certification and sustainability aspects (“halal, sustain, tourism”). This cluster reflects the industry’s response to increasing demand for religiously compliant tourism services.

The second cluster, “Sustainable Tourism and Development,” examines strategies for implementing eco-friendly and responsible travel practices. This research stream addresses how tourism can contribute to environmental protection and community well-being while remaining economically viable. Like the first cluster, it shares similar keyword patterns across all three categories, indicating significant conceptual overlap between halal tourism and broader sustainability initiatives. This convergence suggests that researchers increasingly view halal tourism as inherently connected to sustainability principles. The third cluster, “Technology and Digitalization in Tourism,” investigates innovations in digital tourism and artificial intelligence applications within the hospitality sector. Despite its distinct focus on technological implementation, this cluster shares identical keyword patterns with the previous clusters. This surprising similarity indicates that technology research in tourism consistently intersects with both halal certification concerns and sustainability initiatives, rather than existing as an isolated domain. The consistent appearance of “tourism, sustain, develop” as emerging trends across all three clusters demonstrates how sustainability has become a unifying framework that connects previously distinct research areas.

4. Classification of Literature

4.1. Halal Entrepreneurship: Integration of Islamic Principles in Business, Digital Economy, and Sustainable Development

Halal entrepreneurship represents a significant area of business research, as cultural and religious factors increasingly shape global business relationships. Defined as “an alternative way of establishing and running a business in accordance with Shari’ah principles to provide Halal products and services” (Raimi et al., 2023), this approach incorporates Islamic law into all business operations. Halal entrepreneurs balance profit objectives with ethical considerations aligned with Islamic values, creating business models that achieve both commercial viability and spiritual fulfillment. The foundation of Halal entrepreneurship lies in Islamic worldviews that inherently emphasize sustainable development. Al-Jayyousi et al. (2022) observe that these traditional value-based perspectives inform sustainability discourses promoting inclusive, human-centered development. This connection reflects Islam’s emphasis on balance, moderation, and societal responsibility. In addition, Harahap et al. (2023) articulate how “Islamic law (Maqasid al-Shariah) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) initiated by the United Nations have the same goal: to achieve the perfection of a sustainable human life,” demonstrating the natural alignment between Islamic business ethics and global sustainability frameworks.

Halal entrepreneurship and the Islamic digital economy (IDE) demonstrate complementary relationships. Raimi et al. (2023) conceptualize IDE as “all Shari’ah-compliant economic activities in the regulated digital space,” creating a framework for Halal business operations. Digital infrastructure through e-commerce, e-wallet systems, and fintech enables Halal entrepreneurs to achieve “the double prosperity of Al-Falah.” This digital transformation represents an evolution of traditional Islamic business ethics, maintaining core principles while adapting to contemporary economic landscapes.

Despite the nascent state of the Islamic digital economy, it presents substantial opportunities for innovation. Additionally, Battour et al. (2022) identifies emerging technologies, including IoT, 3D printing, cloud computing, AI, and blockchain, as potential growth areas. By integrating these technologies, Halal entrepreneurs enhance operational efficiency while expanding market reach, allowing Islamic principles to influence global digital business practices. Simultaneously, the interdependence between Halal entrepreneurship and Islamic finance creates a cohesive ecosystem. On the other hand, Raimi et al. (2024) describe how Islamic finance provides Shari’ah-compliant instruments, ethical practices, and expanded market access. This integrated approach promotes economic growth and social welfare while addressing both material and spiritual needs, guided by Maqasid-ul Shari’ah principles.

Practical applications demonstrate the versatility of Halal entrepreneurship across contexts. Purnomo and Purwandari (2025) identify leadership and innovation as critical success factors in MSME empowerment within sustainable tourism villages. In financial contexts, Mukhlishin et al. (2024) examine zakat maal management across Malaysia, Turkey, and Indonesia, revealing diverse implementation approaches. In addition, Andespa et al. (2024) highlight the importance of Islamic branding in building trust and differentiation for Islamic financial institutions, creating value propositions that resonate with consumers seeking ethical financial solutions.

Despite significant growth potential, halal entrepreneurship faces implementation challenges. These include the necessity of support from government, regulators, and institutions to improve Islamic finance and achieve SDGs (Harahap et al., 2023), and the importance of effective governance arrangements, particularly in resource-constrained environments (Wu et al., 2021). These challenges necessitate collaboration among business leaders, policymakers, religious scholars, and community representatives to create enabling environments for halal entrepreneurship.

Regulatory frameworks play a crucial role in supporting Halal entrepreneurship development. Ahyani et al. (2024) advocate for adaptive law enforcement strategies and robust regulations in digital contexts. These frameworks ensure authentic adherence to Islamic principles, protect consumers from misleading claims, and preserve halal certification integrity. As the halal industry expands globally, standardized regulatory systems become essential for maintaining credibility across diverse markets.

Table 5. Research focus and methodological approaches in halal entrepreneurship.

Author(s) and Year	Research Focus	Research Setting
Raimi et al. (2023)	Halal entrepreneurship in the Islamic digital economy	Critical discourse analysis of 76 scholarly articles
Al-Jayyousi et al. (2022)	Islamic perspectives on sustainable development	Systematic literature review on Islamic sustainability models
Harahap et al. (2023)	Islamic law, finance, and SDGs intersection	Review of 65 papers from Scopus (2008–2022)
Salaheldeen (2022)	Digital economy opportunities for Halal entrepreneurs	Theoretical exploration
Raimi et al. (2024)	Halal entrepreneurship and Islamic finance interdependence	PRISMA-based review of 33 articles (2001–2024, Scopus)
Purnomo and Purwandari (2025)	MSME empowerment in sustainable tourism villages	Mixed-methods study in Ponggok Tourism Village
Mukhlishin et al. (2024)	Zakat Maal management practices	Comparative analysis of Malaysia, Turkey, Indonesia
Andespa et al. (2024)	Islamic branding for sustainable Islamic banking	PRISMA-based literature review
Sari et al. (2022)	Performance auditing for SDG implementation	Case study on Indonesia’s governance
Ahyani et al. (2024)	Law enforcement on online gambling and SDGs	Qualitative study with law enforcement in Indonesia

below illustrates the research trends in halal entrepreneurship in the context of sustainable tourism.

In conclusion, Halal entrepreneurship represents the integration of Islamic principles with contemporary business practices and digital innovation. Its alignment with Sustainable Development Goals positions it as a relevant framework for addressing global challenges including poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation. Through its holistic approach balancing commercial success with ethical responsibility, halal entrepreneurship offers a distinctive alternative within the global economy.

4.2. Sustainable Tourism and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The integration of Islamic principles with sustainable tourism has emerged as a significant research area that aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This synthesis examines how researchers have conceptualized halal sustainable tourism and its relationship with sustainability frameworks. Recent scholarship has sought to establish quantifiable metrics for evaluating halal tourism sustainability. Sulong et al. (2024) constructed a Sustainable Halal Tourism Composite Performance Index (SHTCPI) using four dimensions—environment, social, economic, and halal tourism—across 116 countries. Their findings revealed that halal tourism remains in a developmental stage, with many Muslim-majority countries surprisingly ranking lower than expected.

The conceptual foundation of halal sustainable tourism emphasizes the integration of religious principles with contemporary sustainability frameworks. I. Setiawan (2023) identified religious morality, economic considerations, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility as four essential and inseparable elements in sustainable halal tourism development. Their study employed structural equation modeling to demonstrate that these elements positively and significantly contribute to sustainable halal tourism outcomes. In addition, the entrepreneurial dimension of sustainable halal tourism represents another significant research direction. Muazu and Sjahrir (2023) explored how halal entrepreneurship impacts sustainable economic development by examining market potential and challenges. They argue that halal entrepreneurship fundamentally aligns with sustainability through its promotion of ethical business practices, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship. Similarly, Umar (2023) investigated opportunities for halal entrepreneurs to accelerate SDG achievement, demonstrating that developing green products, adopting climate-friendly technologies, making ethical investments, and promoting responsible consumption patterns align with both Shari’a principles and sustainability goals. These studies collectively establish that halal entrepreneurship offers a distinctive pathway to achieving SDGs through its inherent ethical framework.

Furthermore, gender equity in sustainable tourism development has received increasing attention, particularly regarding digital empowerment. Ditta-Apichai et al. (2024) examined how social media platforms facilitate female micro-entrepreneurship in tourism using a netnographic approach. Their research identified four mechanisms through which platforms like Facebook support empowerment: providing learning resources, creating informal entrepreneurial ecosystems, offering self-development tools, and facilitating business development exchanges. Several studies have investigated tourist perceptions and satisfaction factors in sustainable halal tourism destinations. The study of Zulvianti et al. (2022) analyzed how environmental and non-environmental factors influence visitor satisfaction in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Their findings revealed that perceived environmental values, halal-friendly destination performance, sustainable tourism development, and halal destination image all significantly impact tourist satisfaction. Building on this work, Aimon et al. (2023) explored antecedents of electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) in halal tourism contexts, finding that psychological safety and halal-friendly destination performance significantly affected tourist satisfaction, while sustainable tourism development did not show a significant direct influence. These studies highlight the complex interplay between environmental perceptions, religious considerations, and visitor experience in sustainable halal tourism contexts.

Several studies have focused on specific market segments and applications within sustainable halal tourism. The findings of Alam et al. (2024) investigated Sharia-compliant swimming pool management practices and consumer motivations, identifying both internal factors (comfort, halal lifestyle, health) and external factors (facility support, social influence, and negative experiences at conventional pools) driving consumer preferences. Similarly, Othman et al. (2021) assessed spa premises for Muslim-friendly elements, connecting their findings to SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). These studies demonstrate how sustainability principles can be integrated into specific tourism facilities while respecting religious requirements.

The role of policy and governance in developing sustainable halal tourism has emerged as a critical area of inquiry. Marlina et al. (2024) applied Analytic Network Process techniques to analyze Indonesia’s halal tourism strategy, identifying inadequate infrastructure, subpar regulations, and insufficient human resource training as key barriers. Their research suggests that enhancing human capital quality, strengthening regulatory frameworks, and improving marketing strategies are essential for sustainable halal tourism development. Similarly, Syufa’at et al. (2024) analyzed the implementation of Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environmental Sustainability (CHSE) certification in Banyumas tourism sites, finding that such certifications enhance competitiveness and demonstrate readiness for tourists, including those seeking halal-compliant experiences.

Table 6. Halal sustainable tourism and its alignment with Sustainable Development Goals.

Author and Year	Research Focus	Research Setting
Sulong et al. (2024)	Sustainable Halal Tourism Performance Index	116 countries (2010–2020)
H. Setiawan et al. (2024)	Factors shaping sustainable halal tourism	Islamic tourism destinations
Muazu and Sjahrir (2023)	Halal entrepreneurship and sustainable economy	Literature review
Ditta-Apichai et al. (2024)	Facebook’s role in female tourism entrepreneurship	3214 posts and 12 interviews
Zulvianti et al. (2022)	Factors affecting tourist satisfaction	690 tourists, West Sumatra
Aimon et al. (2023)	eWOM and psychological safety in halal tourism	310 tourists, West Sumatra
Alam et al. (2024)	Sharia swimming pool management	15 frequent users
Marlina et al. (2024)	Barriers and strategies for halal tourism	15 experts, Indonesia
Othman et al. (2021)	Muslim-friendly spa design and services	2 spa case studies, Malaysia
Syufa’at et al. (2024)	CHSE certification in halal tourism	5 tourism sites, Indonesia
Apriantoro et al. (2024)	Bibliometric analysis of halal ecotourism	1892 Scopus articles (2013–2022)
Umar (2023)	Halal entrepreneurship and SDGs	Literature review
Battour et al. (2022)	Defining halal tourism and business opportunities	Critical assessment
Salaheldeen et al. (2023)	Halal Entrepreneurship Success Scale	Mixed-methods study

below illustrates the research on halal tourism and its impact on SDGs.

The literature on halal sustainable tourism and SDGs reveals several emerging research directions. First, developing standardized sustainability metrics specific to halal tourism remains an ongoing challenge, as evidenced by the pioneering work of Sulong et al. (2024) on the SHTCPI. Second, the digital transformation of halal tourism through social media, as explored by Ditta-Apichai et al. (2024) and Caraka et al. (2022), offers promising avenues for inclusive growth while raising questions about authenticity and regulation. Third, the integration of SDG frameworks with Islamic principles, as discussed by I. Setiawan (2023) and Muazu & Sjahrir (2023), provides a foundation for developing culturally appropriate sustainability models.

4.3. Technology and Digitalization in Tourism

The tourism industry has undergone significant transformation through technological advancements and digitalization, creating new paradigms for business operations, customer engagement, and sustainable development. Digital transformation has fundamentally altered tourism infrastructure and investment frameworks. The study of Julianti and Pinpak (2024) asserts that investment digitalization substantially impacts tourism development, although the authors identify significant challenges, including suboptimal regulations, overlapping authorities, regional digital gaps, and inadequate data privacy protection. Their comparative analysis with Japan and Thailand reveals that these nations maintain competitive advantages through more advanced technological infrastructure, strategic government policies, and mature digital economies.

The integration of transportation infrastructure and connectivity with tourism development represents another significant theme in the literature. Caraka et al. (2023) employed big data cognitive analytics to examine the interrelationship between air connectivity, sports events, and infrastructure development in Indonesia’s Mandalika Special Economic Zone between 2017 and 2022. Their findings demonstrate that the synergistic combination of international airport development, globally recognized sporting events, and strategic government support directly enhanced tourism performance in the region.

In addition, social media platforms have emerged as powerful global channels for tourism promotion and customer engagement. Rahman et al. (2022) examine how Web 2.0 technologies and social media applications, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, have become indispensable instruments for promoting tourism events and destinations. They note that consumers increasingly utilize these platforms throughout the entire tourism journey—from pre-trip research and decision-making to post-trip knowledge sharing. The pursuit of sustainable tourism through technological innovation represents another prominent research direction. Achmad et al. (2023) propose a collaborative model integrating open innovation, stakeholder engagement, and support system facilities to develop sustainable tourism in competitive environments. Their quantitative analysis using PLS-SEM with data from 358 SMEs in Indonesian tourism regions demonstrates that performance improvements positively and significantly affect tourism industry sustainability. Similarly, Elgaar et al. (2024) mapped the landscape of natural food consumption barriers through bibliometric analysis of 155 publications spanning 1989–2023. These studies reveal evolving research trajectories and highlight emerging opportunities for cross-disciplinary integration between technology, tourism, and sustainability.

Table 7. Key studies on tourism, digitalization, and sustainable development.

Author and Year	Research Focus	Research Setting
Julianti and Pinpak (2024)	Investment digitalization in tourism and regulatory challenges	Indonesia, Japan, Thailand
Caraka et al. (2023)	Air connectivity, sports events and tourism	Mandalika, Indonesia
Rahman et al. (2022)	Social media in tourism promotion and engagement	Global tourism events
Achmad et al. (2023)	Open innovation and stakeholder collaboration in tourism	358 SMEs, Indonesia
Elgaar et al. (2024)	Barriers to natural food consumption	155 studies (1989–2023)
H. Setiawan et al. (2024)	Digitalization in legal transformation and governance	Indonesia, EU, US, UK

below illustrates the key studies related to tourism, digitalization and sustainable development.

Institutional and governance dimensions of digitalization are increasingly recognized as foundational to tourism development. H. Setiawan et al. (2024) examined the digitalization of legal transformation in Indonesia’s Constitutional Court, emphasizing that technological implementation promotes transparency and clarity in judicial processes. Their research highlights the need for accelerated digital transformation in legal institutions that directly impact business environments, including tourism. This perspective aligns with the emphasis of Julianti and Pinpak (2024) on legal certainty as a prerequisite for effective investment digitalization in tourism. Significant research gaps remain, particularly in ROI measurement for digital tourism initiatives and cross-cultural technology adoption comparisons between emerging and established destinations.

5. Discussion

5.1. Theoretical Implications and Synthesis

The findings from our systematic analysis reveal significant theoretical implications for understanding the convergence of Islamic principles, sustainability frameworks, and technological innovation in tourism contexts. Our identification of three distinct research clusters—Sustainable Tourism and Development (51.72%), Halal Tourism and Entrepreneurship (37.93%), and Technology and Digitalization (17.24%)—demonstrates the field’s evolution from foundational sustainability frameworks toward innovative applications in entrepreneurship and digital transformation. This progression aligns with broader tourism industry trends where religious tourism increasingly intersects with sustainability and technology paradigms (Pencarelli, 2020; Rahman et al., 2022).

The temporal analysis revealing declining entrepreneurship studies while sustainability integration and technological applications gained momentum, particularly post-pandemic, suggests a maturation of the field from business-oriented approaches toward more holistic frameworks addressing global challenges (Caraka et al., 2022; Julianti & Pinpak, 2024). This shift reflects the growing recognition that halal tourism’s potential extends beyond economic benefits to encompass environmental stewardship and social responsibility inherent in Islamic principles (Al-Jayyousi et al., 2022; I. Setiawan, 2023).

5.2. Addressing Trade-Offs and Tensions in Integration

While our integrated framework demonstrates significant potential for harmonizing Islamic principles with sustainability goals and technological innovation, critical trade-offs and tensions require careful navigation in practical implementation. Digital personalization technologies, while enhancing customer experience in halal tourism, create fundamental conflicts with Islamic privacy principles (hifdh al-’ird), where enhanced halal services requiring extensive personal data collection may conflict with Quranic injunctions against excessive inquiry into personal affairs (Rahman et al., 2022; Siddique et al., 2024).

Automation efficiency in tourism operations presents another tension, potentially conflicting with Islamic employment principles that emphasize human dignity and the social responsibility of job creation, creating conflicts between operational efficiency and community welfare obligations inherent in Islamic business ethics (Raimi et al., 2023; Purnomo & Purwandari, 2025). The entrepreneurial literature suggests that successful halal enterprises must balance technological efficiency with Islamic principles of providing meaningful employment and supporting community development (Muazu & Sjahrir, 2023).

Global standardization of digital halal certifications faces challenges from diverse Islamic jurisprudence interpretations across different regions, where technological solutions may oversimplify complex religious requirements that vary between Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, and Hanbali schools of thought (Battour et al., 2022; Sulong et al., 2024). Our analysis reveals that successful implementations require contextual adaptation rather than universal standardization, suggesting that technology should facilitate rather than replace traditional certification processes.

Additionally, sustainability metrics embedded in digital platforms may occasionally conflict with specific halal requirements, such as renewable energy installations affecting prayer space orientations or sustainable transportation options limiting access to halal food sources during travel (Marlina et al., 2024; Syufa’at et al., 2024). These practical challenges highlight the need for adaptive frameworks that can accommodate both religious requirements and sustainability goals without compromising either domain.

5.3. Framework Adaptability and Implementation Strategies

Our integrative conceptual model addresses identified tensions through adaptive strategies that position technology and sustainability as enablers of Islamic principles rather than transformative drivers, ensuring religious authenticity remains paramount while achieving operational efficiency and environmental objectives (Al-Jayyousi et al., 2022; I. Setiawan, 2023). This approach advances tourism theory by cohesively connecting three domains previously examined in isolation through nine interrelated variables across distinct theoretical pillars: Halal Principles Integration (Religious–Ethical Integration, Sustainable Value Creation, and Digital–Traditional Synthesis), Sustainability Implementation (Integrated Sustainability Governance, Stakeholder Satisfaction Equilibrium, and Inclusive Value Creation), and Digital Transformation (Digital Infrastructure Integration, Stakeholder Digital Engagement, and Sustainable Digital Innovation).

By conceptualizing these elements as an integrated system rather than disparate components, the model demonstrates how religious values can harmoniously align with contemporary sustainability goals through contextually appropriate technological applications. This holistic approach provides destination managers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs with theoretical foundations for developing coherent strategies that simultaneously satisfy religious requirements, achieve sustainability outcomes, and leverage digital innovations while maintaining flexibility for destination-specific adaptations.

Successful implementation necessitates collaborative governance approaches involving religious scholars, technology experts, and sustainability practitioners (Harahap et al., 2023; Achmad et al., 2023). Such multi-stakeholder engagement ensures technological solutions respect religious requirements while advancing sustainability objectives, creating synergistic relationships that transcend traditional domain boundaries. The model establishes structured pathways for future empirical research, including measurement development and cross-cultural comparisons, advancing inclusive tourism understanding that respects diverse cultural values while addressing global sustainability challenges. Figure 10 illustrates this integrated conceptual model for sustainable halal tourism development.

6. Conclusions

This systematic review has provided a comprehensive examination of the integration between Islamic principles and global sustainability goals within halal tourism, utilizing the PRISMA methodology combined with bibliometric analysis and Structural Topic Modeling to analyze 62 publications spanning 2015–2025. This study successfully addressed its three primary objectives by systematically identifying halal certification implementation frameworks, evaluating government support mechanisms, and assessing digital technologies’ transformative role in halal tourism operations.

The analytical findings reveal a dynamic research landscape characterized by substantial annual growth (44.22%) and increasing academic recognition across mainstream tourism journals. The emergence of three distinct research clusters demonstrates the field’s maturation from isolated business-focused studies toward comprehensive approaches that integrate entrepreneurial innovation, sustainability principles, and technological advancement. This evolution reflects broader recognition of halal tourism’s potential to contribute meaningfully to global sustainability objectives while respecting diverse cultural and religious values.

This study’s primary theoretical contribution lies in developing an integrative conceptual framework that establishes structured pathways for destination managers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to formulate coherent strategies simultaneously addressing religious requirements, sustainability outcomes, and technological innovation. Unlike previous fragmented approaches, this framework operationalizes natural synergies between Islamic principles and contemporary sustainability paradigms through nine interrelated variables across three theoretical pillars, providing both theoretical advancement and practical utility for comprehensive halal tourism development.

Our findings demonstrate that Islamic principles fundamentally align with Sustainable Development Goals through shared emphasis on environmental stewardship, social equity, and ethical economic practices. The SHTCPI framework provides quantifiable metrics for evaluating halal tourism sustainability across environmental, social, economic, and religious dimensions, while digital technologies—particularly social media platforms—have proven instrumental in promoting inclusive growth, enhancing operational efficiency, and facilitating female entrepreneurship, directly contributing to SDGs 5, 8, and 12.

From a practical perspective, sustainable halal tourism development requires collaborative governance approaches involving religious scholars, technology experts, and sustainability practitioners to ensure technological solutions respect religious requirements while advancing environmental and social objectives. The framework’s emphasis on positioning technology and sustainability as enablers rather than drivers of change provides a roadmap for avoiding common implementation pitfalls that compromise religious authenticity.

Future Research Directions

This research identifies several critical areas requiring future scholarly attention. Empirical validation of the proposed framework across diverse cultural and geographical contexts remains essential for establishing universal applicability. Development of standardized sustainability metrics specifically calibrated for halal tourism contexts represents another priority, particularly given the current reliance on adapted conventional tourism indicators. Additionally, longitudinal studies examining digital technologies’ effectiveness in maintaining religious authenticity while enhancing operational efficiency, cross-cultural comparative analyses, and empirical investigations of female entrepreneurship’s role in non-Muslim-majority regions could provide valuable insights for both academic understanding and industry application.