Non-OIC nations move up Muslim travel index

Alkesh Sharma / Emirates Business

Members of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) always have a unique advantage when it comes to Muslim travel, thanks to the plethora of Muslim-friendly facilities and services available. However, some non-OIC destinations have also started targeting the Muslim travel market and are making sustainable efforts to offer tailor-made services to attract them.
Recent revelations of the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2016 show that many non-OIC destinations are moving up the ranking at a
faster pace.
“Muslims constitute huge portion of the global travellers. This community is very advanced and is dominated by young population, who is well-educated and prefers exploring new places on the earth. Therefore there is no doubt about the rapidly growing potential of Muslim travel industry. Gauging the good business, many countries have started adapting
their services to suit the needs of
Muslim travellers in a big way,” said Anuj Behl, who works with a Turkey-based travel company and is heading its operations in the UAE, in an exclusive conversation with Emirates
Business during the recently-held ATM in Dubai.
According to the MasterCard-CrescentRating GMTI 2016, Singapore has emerged as the top non-OIC destination among Muslim travellers. It is followed by Thailand, UK, South Africa and Hong Kong.
“Muslim travellers are judicious when it comes to travelling. Their demands are very discreet, ranging from Halal food to proper prayer facilities and recreational facilities and services with privacy. Singapore has done amazing arrangements keeping in mind the requirements of Muslims and in the last two years, we have seen a considerable rise in the number of tourists going there from Saudi Arabia and UAE,” added Behl.
However, among the OIC destinations, Malaysia continues to top the GMTI this year. Malaysia has consistently been able to maintain its standing among the main three themes; family-friendly holiday and safe travel destination, Muslim-friendly services and facilities at the destination, and Halal awareness and destination marketing. In this ranking of OIC countries, UAE has overtaken Turkey to take the second spot, while Indonesia has improved its ranking to move to fourth place.
“Over the years, we have seen an emergence of a new term called ‘faith-based’ tourism. We are getting specific queries where Muslim travellers
are asking about dedicated services at the destination country. In fact
host countries have started recognising this trend and they are offering special Halal-friendly offerings,” an Abu Dhabi-based travel agent, who preferred not to be named, told
Emirates Business.