Residents’ support for halal tourism: when knowledge challenges emotional solidarity

Although growing research has examined consumers’ and employees’ attitudes toward halal tourism, the perspectives of residents, crucial stakeholders in shaping tourist experiences and ensuring destination sustainability, remain underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining how perceived value influences residents’ support for halal tourism, with emotional solidarity as a mediator and residents’ knowledge as a moderator. Survey data from 429 residents of Alanya, a leading halal tourism destination in Türkiye, were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings indicate that perceived value positively predicts support for halal tourism both directly and indirectly via emotional solidarity. However, the mediating effect weakens among residents with higher levels of halal tourism knowledge. These results offer novel insights into resident perceptions of halal tourism in secular yet Muslim-majority contexts, contributing to more inclusive and sustainable tourism development strategies.