The UAE remains among the top most preferred destinations by Muslim travellers, taking the second spot after Malaysia, a survey showed.

The Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2017, which covers 130 destinations, showed that the UAE climbed 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.

Indonesia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia completed the top five.

Other GCC countries on the list include Qatar (6th position), Oman (8th position) and Bahrain (9th position).

Singapore retained its pole position for the non-OIC destinations, with Thailand, the UK, South Africa and Hong Kong rounding up the top five. Japan moved up two places to take sixth spot with Spain entering the top 10 for the first time.
 
The research showed that the Muslim travel market will continue to grow at a fast pace with the sector estimated to grow to $220 billion in 2020. It is expected to grow a further US$80 billion to reach US$300 billion by 2026.
 
It was also revealed that in 2016, there were an estimated 121 million Muslim visitor arrivals globally – up from 117 million in 2015 – and this is forecasted to grow to 156 million visitors by 2020 representing 10 percent of the travel segment.
 
Asia has remained the leading region in the world in terms of attractiveness to Muslim tourists with an average GMTI score of 57.6, with Africa coming in second place at 47.0, followed by Oceania (43.8), Europe (39.9) and the Americas (33.7)
 
Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating & HalalTrip, said the GMTI continues to reveal detailed insights which will assist destinations in better understanding the shifting needs of the segment.
 
“We are definitely seeing the influence of a new breed of young travellers, millennials and Gen Z who are combining technology with a real desire to explore the world while still adhering to their faith-based needs,” he said.
 
“They will be the driving force for the next phase of growth and one which destinations like Bahrain must adapt to and embrace if they want to continue to make progress in the rankings.
 
“These younger travellers want greater choice, unique experiences and constant connectivity which can be seen with the growth of other Muslim lifestyle segments such as Halal food and modest fashion which link perfectly with the travel market.
 
"As Muslim travel continues to diversify, keeping on top of the demographics of the travelers though these insights from the GMTI will be paramount for destination management teams and decision makers who are ultimately sourcing solutions for this market."
 
Safdar Khan, division president, Indonesia, Malaysia & Brunei, Mastercard said: “With an overall expenditure of around $155 billion in 2016, the Muslim travel market remains a strong driver for the continued growth in travel across the world. It’s constantly evolving with major forces such as changing demographics and digitisation shaping the way the industry is progressing.
 
“Technology for example is improving the experiences of Muslim travellers every step of the way from the planning phase to the experience phase and the sharing phase. There is a huge opportunity for service providers to innovate and adapt their offerings to cater to the unique needs of this segment at each of these phases across multiple touch points. At Mastercard, we’re committed to supporting the growth of this segment and are working with our partners to constantly develop new and innovative programs and offerings for Muslim consumers.” - TradeArabia News Service