As halal tourism gains momentum across Asia and beyond, the way destinations communicate Muslim-friendly offerings is undergoing a quiet but significant transformation. Once centred on certifications and labels, halal tourism communications today has moved beyond surface-level claims to speak to travellers’ faith while remaining relevant to wider audiences.
Telum spoke with Chatrine Siswoyo, Senior Advisor at Vero, and Joanne Yue, Director of Communications at The Mira Hong Kong, to explore what is changing in halal tourism communications and how earned media is shaping credibility in this space.
From niche to norm: faith as a design principle in travel
Insights from Vero’s Halal Tourism study conducted in 2025 offer a glimpse into this shift. Indonesian Muslims, who make up 12.7 per cent of the global Muslim population, are increasingly redefining halal tourism as a lifestyle movement rather than a standalone travel segment.
Reflecting on the findings, Chatrine observed: “Faith is no longer a niche filter - it has become a design principle shaping how modern travellers engage with the world.”
Rather than foregrounding religious markers, she explained that effective communications integrate faith-informed values into experience design, using broadly resonant themes such as empathy and connection. This reframing positions halal tourism as an organising principle for experience design, not a specialised product.
Chatrine also highlighted the rise of “soft-faith signalling”, particularly among Indonesian travellers. Subtle cues such as inclusive imagery or culturally familiar dining rituals signal welcome without overt religious labelling, enabling destinations to communicate inclusion without narrowing their audience.
Turning values into experiences
At the execution level, hotels are beginning to translate these principles into visual storytelling and immersive experiences.
Joanne shared that communications efforts at The Mira are guided by openness, inclusivity, and diversity. Promotional content mirrors authentic, on-the-ground experiences, guided by an Arabic-speaking guest ambassador, while also highlighting nearby halal dining options that are relevant to all travellers.
Offline moments have also become an extension of this strategy. The hotel’s first Ramadan Iftar Dinner, co-organised with Miramar Travel and the Consulate General of Türkiye in Hong Kong, brought together consuls general from Middle Eastern and Asian countries, Muslim community leaders, and tourism officials. Coverage extended beyond the event through social media, allowing the experience to travel across markets.
The hotel’s initiatives, she explained, balance faith awareness with broad appeal. “By showcasing authentic flavours and cultural exchange through contemporary formats, content can feel aspirational yet relatable - resonating with Muslim travellers while remaining accessible to global audiences.”
Why earned media matters more than ever
Alongside storytelling, earned media has emerged as a cornerstone of credibility-building in halal tourism.
“For emerging Muslim-friendly destinations, third-party validation from journalists, cultural commentators, or trusted digital creators - is what transforms perception into belief," Chatrine remarked.
In fact, Vero’s study revealed that only 11 per cent of surveyed Indonesian Muslim travellers consider formal halal certification essential when booking travel, suggesting that lived experiences and trusted narratives hold greater influence than official labels.
Chatrine explained that as a result, earned media strategies are increasingly designed around building “trust equity” over sheer coverage volume - proritising narratives that humanise destinations and show, rather than tell, how Muslim travellers are welcomed.
At The Mira, earned media exposure across local and international outlets has helped place the hotel on the regional radar, including recognition in TimeOut Hong Kong’s Halal Guide, co-curated with the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
However, Joanne emphasised that impact comes less from visibility alone and more from context. Coverage on Muslim-friendly efforts, she noted, should articulate broader purpose and intent, which could be achieved by inviting journalists to experience offerings first-hand, through behind-the-scenes access to halal kitchens and interviews with senior leadership.
At the same time, Chatrine highlighted the rise of values-driven journalism, which has created new opportunities to position Muslim-friendly destinations within broader conversations around inclusivity, sustainability, and cultural understanding. This re-framing helps halal tourism communications move beyond a “special interest” lens and into the mainstream travel narrative.
Signalling belonging, not just compliance
As halal tourism communications continue to evolve, Chatrine offered a clear direction: “Faith-based storytelling today isn’t about religion alone. It’s about reassurance, making travellers feel that their beliefs and identities can travel with them freely, seamlessly, and joyfully.”
Built on a foundation of compliance, communications in this space are most effective when they articulate a sense of belonging for Muslim travellers while tapping into universal values that resonate across cultures and faiths - with earned media acting as the catalyst that moves perception into trust.
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Every few years, someone declares the death of the media release.
Today, the arguments sound familiar. Journalists don't read them anymore. Everything is social-first. AI is replacing traditional media outreach. It's all about the pitch. Press releases are becoming little more than AI-generated filler.
And yet, when we speak with journalists across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, a different picture emerges.
Media releases aren't dead, but expectations around them have changed significantly.
We've analysed more than 10,000 Journalist Interest Survey responses in the Telum Media platform collected over the past five years, alongside insights gathered from conversations with editors, reporters, and producers across the region.
Key takeaways:
- Journalists still value useful PR content
- Relevance matters more than reach
- The pitch and the release serve different roles
- The best releases reduce friction for journalists
- Modern releases need to support multiple platforms
The conclusion is clear: journalists still value media releases, but they value them for different reasons than they once did.
The media release has evolved from a distribution tool into something far more strategic.
The media release is no longer the story
For decades, many PR professionals treated the media release as the centrepiece of media relations activity.
Write the release. Send it widely. Hope for coverage - “spray and pray”.
That approach was far from perfect, but you could get away with it in an era when newsrooms were larger, competition for attention was lower, and journalists had more time to evaluate incoming information.
Today's reality is very different.
Journalists are producing content across multiple platforms, often with smaller teams and tighter deadlines. Their inboxes are flooded with pitches, announcements, thought leadership submissions, and increasingly, AI-generated content.
As a result, journalists have become far more selective about what earns their attention.
The modern media release is no longer just about news stories. It has become a source-of-truth asset, a newsroom resource, and a content hub that supports broader communications activity.
The best PR teams understand this shift.
“The strongest message from journalists can be summarised in a single phrase: ‘Understand what I cover’. Relevance remains the most important factor in successful media engagement.”
What journalists are actually rejecting
One of the most revealing findings from our analysis is that journalists are not rejecting PR content altogether.
What they're rejecting is low-value outreach.
Across thousands of responses, the same frustrations appeared repeatedly:
- Irrelevant pitches
- Generic outreach
- Mass distribution
- Weak story angles
- Excessive follow-ups
In other words, this is less a rejection of media releases and more a rejection of poor media relations practice.
The strongest message from journalists can be summarised in a single phrase:
"Understand what I cover."
Relevance remains the most important factor in successful media engagement. In fact, our journalist surveys over the past two years have seen a sharp increase in a desire for both relevance and personalisation in pitches.
Journalists increasingly assess pitches within seconds. If the connection to their beat, audience, or current priorities isn't immediately obvious, the opportunity is often lost before the email is even opened.
The pitch and the release have different jobs
One of the biggest misconceptions in modern media relations is treating the pitch and the release as the same thing.
They are not.
The pitch exists to earn attention; the release exists to support the story.
The best pitches are:
- Brief
- Human
- Relevant
- Contextual
- Conversational
The best releases are:
- Structured
- Factual
- Complete
- Reusable
- Easy to reference
At a recent Telum Media event, a senior journalist described the fastest way to kill a pitch with a single word: “Respect”. Or a lack thereof.
A generic greeting. A story unrelated to their beat. A mass-produced email that demonstrates no understanding of their audience.
All signal a lack of respect for the journalist's time and expertise.
High-performing PR teams increasingly write pitches and releases for different audiences. The pitch is written for the journalist. The release is written for the journalist's audience.
That distinction matters.
Why journalists still value media releases
Despite predictions of their demise, journalists continue to actively request media releases.
But they want releases that help them work more efficiently.
The most common requests include concise writing, clear headlines, strong news angles, supporting data (with downloadable images and assets), spokesperson access, and easy-to-use formats.
These preferences reveal the modern role of the release: it functions as a workflow tool.
A strong release helps journalists:
- Understand the story quickly
- Verify information
- Access supporting materials
- Build content efficiently
The best releases reduce friction. And in today's newsroom environment, reducing friction is often more valuable than generating hype.
Think beyond media coverage
Another major shift is that media releases are increasingly serving multiple audiences.
A modern release doesn’t just support journalists; it might also support clients and prospects, employees, investors and analysts, partners, and search visibility.
Rather than creating a single-use document, leading communications teams are building content ecosystems.
The release becomes the foundation for:
- Media outreach
- Newsroom content
- Executive communications
- Social media content
- Email campaigns
- Sales collateral
- Thought leadership activity
This approach not only improves consistency but also increases the return on investment from every announcement.
The role of the modern media release
Not every story needs a release
Perhaps one of the most important lessons is recognising when a media release is the wrong tool.
Releases tend to perform best when there is:
- Genuine news value
- Multiple stakeholder audiences
- A need for factual consistency
- Strong supporting assets
- Broader business significance
They are often less effective for internal milestones framed as major news (or self-congratulatory announcements), generic thought leadership, and untargeted mass outreach.
In some situations, a targeted pitch, LinkedIn strategy, executive commentary programme, or direct relationship-based outreach may be more effective.
Good communications strategy isn't about defaulting to a media release; it's about choosing the right tool for the objective.
A framework for modern media releases
If there is one word that captures what journalists are asking for today, it is respect.
At Telum Media, we summarise this through the RESPECT framework:
R – Relevance
Make it relevant to the journalist, their audience and the moment.
E – Efficiency
Help journalists work faster through clear, concise, and usable content.
S – Substance
Provide genuine value through expertise, data, insight, or access.
P – Personalisation
Demonstrate that you've done your homework.
E – Ecosystem
Think beyond the release and consider how it supports broader communications goals.
C – Clarity
Make the key message immediately obvious.
T – Timing
Reach out at the right time, not simply any time.
What journalists are asking for in a pitch / media release: RESPECT
The future of the media release
The debate over whether media releases are dead misses the point.
The more useful question is how do we make releases work better in today’s media environment?
Journalists still value relevant information, credible sources, strong story angles, and efficient communication. Media releases continue to play an important role in delivering those things.
But success today depends less on the existence of the release itself and more on how strategically it is used.
The media release remains a valuable communications tool.
Just not in the way many of us were taught to use it.
FAQs
Are media releases still useful in 2026?
Yes. Journalists still value media releases, but these days want targeted outreach, relevance to their beat, alignment with their audience, and contextual pitching.
What makes a media release useful to journalists?
Journalists are looking for releases in a format that helps them work efficiently. Which means releases that are concise, factual, with a clear angle, contain usable quotes, and come with downloadable assets and supporting data.
What is the difference between a pitch and a media release?
A pitch earns the journalist’s attention in their cluttered Inbox. A media release supports the story by providing structured, factual, and reusable information relevant to their audience.
With more than 30 years’ experience spanning journalism, corporate communications and media intelligence, Reuben Aitchison is Telum Media’s Head of Insights and Communications.
Explore Telum Media tools that help PR teams pitch with precision.
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