The United Arab Emirates retained second place in the international ranking of the most popular tourist destinations for Muslims.
The UAE has again taken second place after Malaysia in the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI), a report compiled by Mastercard-Crescentrating, which examines the popularity of 130 countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and not only in popularity among Muslim travelers.
It was established that in 2016 there were 121 million international Muslim tourists, which is equivalent to 10% of the entire tourism industry, compared with 117 million in 2015. The study showed that the corresponding market segment is expected to grow to $ 220 billion in 2020 and to $ 300 billion by 2026.
“The UAE remains a very attractive place, and it will be interesting to see if they can oust Malaysia in the next few years,” said Bahardin Fazal Saeed, Crescentrating & HalalTrip's chief executive officer.
In his opinion, the millennials who want to explore the world while remaining faithful to traditions will become the new driving force of the segment and a growth point for the UAE in the fight for first place.
More and more countries that are not part of the OIC are adapting their services and offers to meet the needs of the Muslim segment of the travel market. Among such states, Singapore retained its leadership position. The top five also included Thailand, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Hong Kong.
