Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2019: Indonesia and Malaysia Take the Top Positions in the Fast Growing Muslim Travel Market

Jakarta, 9 April 2019 – For the first time, Indonesia shares the top spot with Malaysia in the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2019. The report includes 130 destinations globally, within and outside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) [1]. Singapore continues to be the top Muslim-friendly travel destination among non-OIC destinations, followed by Thailand, the United Kingdom, Japan and Taiwan.

The GMTI tracks the health and growth of Muslim-friendly travel destinations in four strategic areas – access, communications, environment and services. The GMTI is now the leading study providing insights and data to help countries, the travel industry and investors gauge the development of travel sectors while benchmarking a country’s progress in catering to Muslim travelers. 

The Muslim travel market is one of the fastest growing tourism sectors in the world, but despite its huge potential, remains relatively untapped. By 2026, the Halal travel sector’s contribution to the global economy is expected to jump 35% to US$300 billion, up from US$220 billion in 2020. By that time, Muslim visitors globally are forecast to grow to 230 million visitors, to represent more than 10 percent of tourists worldwide.