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Emirates Business
The UAE has climbed to become the second most popular destination in the global Muslim travel market, according to the most comprehensive research released on this the sector.
The MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2016, which covers 130 destinations, saw the UAE move up one spot from last year to take the second position behind Malaysia which retained its pole position on the list of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) destinations. Turkey, Indonesia and Qatar round off the top five.
Indonesia climbed two places to take the fourth spot while Bahrain became the biggest mover, jumping four spots to take the tenth position. Singapore also retained its pole position for the non-OIC destinations, with Thailand, the UK, South Africa and Hong Kong making up the top five.
The study also revealed that in 2015, there were an estimated 117 million Muslim visitor arrivals globally, representing close to 10 percent of the entire travel market. This is forecasted to grow to 168 million visitors by 2020 equal to 11 percent of the market segment with a market value projected to exceed US$200 billion.
Asia and Europe were also revealed as the two leading regions in the world for attracting Muslim visitors — accounting for 87 percent of the entire market.
“The MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2016 has now become the number one tool for destinations around the world to realign their strategies to reach out to the Muslim consumer. One of the biggest trends we are seeing is non-OIC destinations making a concerted effort to attract the Muslim tourist and they now represent over 63 percent of the destinations covered in the GMTI. For example, Japan and Philippines have taken some major steps over the last few months to diversify their visitor arrivals and boost their economy in the process,†said Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating & HalalTrip.
“Many already successful destinations around the world are looking to diversify their visitor base to maintain tourist growth rates in today’s increasingly competitive travel market. The fast growing Muslim travel segment is an opportunity in plain sight but in order to benefit from it, it is crucial to understand the needs and preferences of Muslim travelers and how to adapt and tailor products and services for them. We believe that the GMTI provides real value to businesses and governments looking to tap into this important market segment,†said Matthew Driver, Group Executive, Global Products & Solutions, Asia Pacific, MasterCard.