Presented at the 2nd Mini Symposium on Islamic Tourism 19th -20th April 2018 Putrajaya Malaysia. Organized by The Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC), Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia 1 PROPOSING A MUSLIM-FRIENDLY HOSPITALITY REGULATORY FRAMEWORK USING SYSTEMS APPROACH Ahmad Sahir Jais*, Azizan Marzuki** * PhD. Candidates, **PhD, Associate Professor School of Housing, Building and Planning, University Sains Malaysia, Gelugor 11800 Pulau Pinang Malaysia. * Email: sahirjais@student.usm.my Phone: +60133822328 ABSTRACT Muslim-Friendly Hospitality (MFH) is considered a new trends in tourism and hospitality which has gained attention among industry player, locally and abroad. The attraction is due to the growing number of Muslim’s who requires their faith-based needs, satiated when travelling and engaging in activities beyond their home. MFH adoption is far less strict than Shariah Compliance (SC), which commands to the adherence of Islamic teaching on every aspect of the hospitality operation and management. To ensure the integrity of MFH practices, a regulatory framework for MFH is proposed. Extensive literature and documents analysis were conducted as primary methodology for this paper. Data gathered, were coded and analysed qualitatively, to grasp the relationship between every element in the MFH regulatory framework. An MFH regulatory framework is then proposed and benchmarked upon the regulatory framework used in the Malaysian Halal industry. A systems based approach was chosen to be the illustrative apparatuses to explain better the regulatory framework as a continuous, robust systems that will be the core of the MFH ecosystems. The regulatory framework consists of Government Policy, Laws and Regulation, comprises of Implementation Guidelines, Manual procedures and Circulars and the lowest level, Quality Standards & Term of References. At the operational level, the MFH Management Systems will the guiding-governing tools, keeping the Muslim-Friendly practices intact. The adoption of MFH practices as a fully functioning and organised systems is still in its infancy, although some of its elements have been practices unintentionally over the years by industry player. Realigning of efforts and resources through creating comprehensive regulatory framework will ensure the sustainability of MFH practices, and ultimately will give Malaysia an added advantages as a premier destination for Muslim tourist. Keywords: Muslim-Friendly Hospitality (MFH), Regulatory Framework, Islamic Tourism, Halal 1. Introduction There are loopholes in the Muslim-Friendly Hospitality regulatory framework. The need to define and established a Muslim-Friendly Hospitality (MFH) regulatory framework is a grave concern in the development of Islamic Tourism in Malaysia (Islamic Tourism Centre Malaysia, 2013; Samori, Rahman, & Zahari, 2017). By looking at the pace and progress of MFH and Islamic Tourism, problems loom at the horizons. MFH is the new niche in the tourism and hospitality sectors. This niche area has gain attention among industry player, locally and abroad (Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC), 2016). The attraction is due to the ever-growing number of Muslim who requires their faith-based needs to be satiated when travelling and engaging in activities beyond their home. MFH adoption is far less strict than Shariah Compliance (SC) practices, which commands to the totality of Islamic teaching on every aspect of the operation and management. A regulatory framework of MFH is suggested to ensure the integrity of MFH practices, according to Islamic teaching. There three (3) primary areas in MFH, Accommodation, Tour packages and Tourist Guide according to the MS2610:2015 Standards (Department of Standards Malaysia., 2015). Figure 1 detailed out the