Islam and Tourism

In one of his articles regarding Islam and tourism, Patung mentioned that Islam is bad for tourism, because some attempts to forbid activities associated as sinful by Islam, such as drinking, harms the growth of tourism in some Indonesian areas with Muslim-majority population, such as Lombok. While I agree that such attempts will deter tourists from coming to the region, it doesn't mean that the religion itself is bad for tourism.

I would like to emphasize that it's not just a matter of religion.

We don't need to go too far to see an example. Malaysia is also a country with a Muslim-majority population. But the country has successfully attracted tourists from all over the world, especially East Asia (China and the region) and Middle East countries. So, it's not true that Islam is bad for tourism.

What's the issue here, then?

Tolerance.

Malaysians are generally more tolerant towards other religions. Even when the Malaysian Muslims forbid themselves from drinking, they do not forbid people from other religions from doing so. Even when Islam forbids gambling, the government still allows some casinos to be built at Genting Highlands for non-Muslim Malaysians and tourists, of course after ensuring that Malaysian Muslims are prohibited to enter the casinos.

So, again, it's not true that Islam is bad for tourism. We just have to be more tolerant to people from other religion. If the Malaysians can do it, why can't we?