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

Authors: Suraj Kushe Shekhar

Addresses: VIT Business School, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632014, India

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: halal tourism; sentiment analysis; topic modelling; Muslim travellers; digital marketing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2025.150637

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2025 Vol.15 No.6, pp.490 - 511

Received: 30 Jan 2025
Accepted: 23 Aug 2025
Published online: 18 Dec 2025 *

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