Malaysia again ranked first for halal tourism amid sector recovery
Malaysia has maintained its position as the top travel destination for Muslims in the world. The country came first again in the newly released MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2022.
The news came amid a broader recovery of the tourism market in Malaysia. About one million travelers have arrived in the nation since it reopened its borders on April 1, according to Malaysia’s tourism minister Nancy Shukri, who noted that the number meant that the country has reached the halfway mark of its “Malaysia Truly Asia 2022” campaign target of two million tourist arrivals for the remainder of this year.
On the top since 2015
With regards to the top halal travel list, Malaysia has held the top position since the launch of the index in 2015. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia took joint second position this year. The GMTI monitors the overall performance of the Muslim travel market.
“We remain dedicated in advocating for Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality in the local and global scale,” Shukri said.
According to her, Islamic tourism “reflects the values of sustainable tourism” and “promotes sustainability in many forms, from economic, social and spiritual sustainability to environmental, cultural and heritage sustainability.”
In Malaysia, the Muslim traveler market contributed to 5.3 million international arrivals with an expenditure of 16.72 billion ringgit ($3.81 billion) in 2019.
Strong pre-pandemic growth in halal travel
MasterCard and CrescentRating reported that prior to the pandemic, the Muslim traveler market exhibited strong growth from 108 million Muslim travelers in 2013 to 160 million in 2019.
The latest GMTI report revealed that this market is expected to pick up again now that global borders are reopening, with a forecast of 230 million Muslims traveling by 2028.
However, CrescentRating founder and chief executive officer Fazal Bahardeen, in the report’s foreword, warned that the momentum could be disrupted by several global events that are currently taking place.
Fragile recovery
“This recovery process is fragile and could be disrupted by the continuing war in Ukraine, fuel price increases and other health threats such as the emerging monkeypox or Covid-19 variants,” he said.
However, he noted that overall, he remained optimistic about the global growth of Muslim travel.
The growth is mainly driven by members of the Generation Z, millennials and women, which are seen as “the most influential and growing demographic within the Muslim population,” with especially women representing one of the fastest-growing segments within the Muslim travel market, Bahardeen added.
Malaysia has maintained its position as the top travel destination for Muslims in the world. The country came first again in the newly released MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2022. The news came amid a broader recovery of the tourism market in Malaysia. About one million travelers have arrived in the nation since it reopened its borders on April 1, according to Malaysia’s tourism minister Nancy Shukri, who noted that the number meant that the country has reached the halfway mark of its "Malaysia Truly Asia 2022" campaign target of two million tourist arrivals for the remainder of this...
Malaysia has maintained its position as the top travel destination for Muslims in the world. The country came first again in the newly released MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2022.
The news came amid a broader recovery of the tourism market in Malaysia. About one million travelers have arrived in the nation since it reopened its borders on April 1, according to Malaysia’s tourism minister Nancy Shukri, who noted that the number meant that the country has reached the halfway mark of its “Malaysia Truly Asia 2022” campaign target of two million tourist arrivals for the remainder of this year.
On the top since 2015
With regards to the top halal travel list, Malaysia has held the top position since the launch of the index in 2015. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia took joint second position this year. The GMTI monitors the overall performance of the Muslim travel market.
“We remain dedicated in advocating for Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality in the local and global scale,” Shukri said.
According to her, Islamic tourism “reflects the values of sustainable tourism” and “promotes sustainability in many forms, from economic, social and spiritual sustainability to environmental, cultural and heritage sustainability.”
In Malaysia, the Muslim traveler market contributed to 5.3 million international arrivals with an expenditure of 16.72 billion ringgit ($3.81 billion) in 2019.
Strong pre-pandemic growth in halal travel
MasterCard and CrescentRating reported that prior to the pandemic, the Muslim traveler market exhibited strong growth from 108 million Muslim travelers in 2013 to 160 million in 2019.
The latest GMTI report revealed that this market is expected to pick up again now that global borders are reopening, with a forecast of 230 million Muslims traveling by 2028.
However, CrescentRating founder and chief executive officer Fazal Bahardeen, in the report’s foreword, warned that the momentum could be disrupted by several global events that are currently taking place.
Fragile recovery
“This recovery process is fragile and could be disrupted by the continuing war in Ukraine, fuel price increases and other health threats such as the emerging monkeypox or Covid-19 variants,” he said.
However, he noted that overall, he remained optimistic about the global growth of Muslim travel.
The growth is mainly driven by members of the Generation Z, millennials and women, which are seen as “the most influential and growing demographic within the Muslim population,” with especially women representing one of the fastest-growing segments within the Muslim travel market, Bahardeen added.
