Muslim tourism is booming and many companies are waking up to the fact that the new Muslim generation as younger, more educated with disposable income and a passion to travel. Many countries such as Turkey are taking great steps to create the right environment for Muslims and Halal travel.
As I have mentioned before in an article Muslim travellers are different in some aspects than the regular tourists and many would like to explore more than Muslim countries if the facilities are available.
CrescentRating released this year’s Global Muslim Travel Index in collaboration with Mastercard CrescentRating has done a great job over the years to actually bring an index showing the progress of the industry and the top destinations for Muslims. I can say I am proud to be an accredited auditor for their Halal travel certification because they do an excellent job in bringing awareness to such a young industry.
The index is separated by OIC countries (Organisation of Cooperation of Islamic Countries) and non OIC countries. Which makes great sense since some of the facilities required are a lot easier to find in Islamic countries.
So which are the top countries for 2015?
The criteria used is
I can see that all the countries make total sense and from my experience the majority of clients are looking for the countries above.United Kingdom attracts a lot of Muslim travellers for shopping and facilities. Especially during the summer holidays when it is boiling hot in the Middle East London seems like a little Middle East. I am surprised that Spain is 9th in the list since there is great Islamic history in Andalucia but I am sure it will grow in years to come. I am also looking forward to seeing Japan in the list with non OIC countries since they are making some great progress with attracting Muslim tourists from Asia.
I am really hoping my plans for a trip to Malaysia materialise for May since I would love to visit and I have heard such great things. I actually I think if it all goes to plan I will be able to report back from 4 countries in this index. I am extremely pleased with the great work in the Halal travel industry. It is a statement saying we are here and we want to travel. I know that many non Muslims might not relate but for a Muslim traveller it can be lonely sometimes on the road. 🙂 Not for long now.