By 2020, the global Halal travel market is expected to be worth USD220 billion – up from its estimated current value of USD150 billion – making it one of the industry’s fastest-growing and most promising sectors.
According to the 2016 MasterCard-CrescentRating Muslim Travel Index (GMTI), in 2015 alone, some 117 million Muslim visitors travelled the world, representing as much as 10 percent of the entire travel economy.
As Fazal Bahardeen, CEO, CrescentRating, the global Halal travel service provider, pinpointed, by 2020, this figure is set to reach 169 million travellers and USD200 billion in spending, meaning a significant business opportunity for industry stakeholders in all segments of tourism.
The list – which studied 130 destinations, including both members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as well as non OIC states – was topped by Malaysia for the second consecutive year, followed by the UAE, Turkey, Indonesia and Qatar.
Among non-OIC countries, Singapore scored the highest rating on the index, with Thailand, the UK, South Africa and Hong Kong rounding off the top five.
“Regardless of OIC or non-OIC, Muslims love to travel across the world as the GMTI shows,” stressed Bahardeen.
In fact, according to the Amadeus Traveller Trends Observatory, with a 35 percent rise in value and a 50 percent growth in volume expected in the span of mere five years, Halal travel is one of the fastest growing sectors globally, with businesses all around the world eager to capture a fair share of the pie.
“[This] is a big opportunity for the industry to meet their requests and properly cater to their needs,” highlighted Antoine Medawar, vice president, Middle East and North Africa, Amadeus.
This sentiment was also echoed by Martin Persson, chief operating officer, Jannah Hotels & Resorts.
“The hospitality industry, particularly, has become very attentive to the rapid growth of travelling Muslims and the need to personalise their experience [by] becoming more Halal friendly and offering them the best of services and amenities,” said Persson.
Ismail Ibrahim, director of sales and marketing, Ramada Abu Dhabi Corniche, Abu Dhabi, concurred, saying, “[This trend] has impacted the tourism sector and as a result, many hotels have started to provide the basic services and amenities that are required by Muslim travellers to attract the maximum number of [guests].”
