Bárbara Ruiz-Bejarano, director of the Las Fuentes Foundation, presented the Medina Network project on September 3 at the World Halal Tourism Conference, whose first edition was dedicated to the legendary Maghrebi traveler Ibn Battuta and focused on sustainable and inclusive tourism.

Ruiz-Bejarano stressed the importance of digital platforms like the Medina Network because they allow for the “integration and coordination of the different links in the tourism value chain,” from accommodation to transport, dining, leisure, and culture. The Medina Network is a digital platform that aims to recover and disseminate the vast Andalusi heritage of Spain and Portugal to showcase its value and present it in an organized way to thousands of tourists interested in cultural destinations.

The first edition of the World Halal & Tourism Conference featured experts from Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the United States, Brunei, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Spain. The nine speakers participated in an online forum jointly organized by various universities and organizations from Malaysia and Thailand, notably the Islamic Tourism Centre.

The World Halal Tourism Conference program is complemented by visits to the town of Krabi, a well-known tourist destination in Thailand, to examine how various holiday services, including restaurants and accommodations, are organized and coordinated.