The 10 most popular travel locations in 2016

Not sure which destination to pick for your travel plans this year? If so, you’re in luck: a research study recently ranked 130 destinations in the global Muslim travel market.

The MasterCard-Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2016 ranked Malaysia, the UAE and Turkey as the top three most popular destinations, followed by Indonesia and Qatar. Saudi Arabia and Oman came in sixth and seventh place, followed by Morocco, Jordan and Bahrain.

The rankings were decided based on the availability of halal dining options, access to prayer spaces, airport facilities, Shariah-compliant accommodation options, ease of communication, air connectivity and visa-free travel.

Raghav Prasad, General Manager, Gulf countries, MasterCard, said, ‘The Muslim travel market is flourishing in each of the GCC states, and these high rankings are further testament to the continuous growth and development of this sector in these countries.’

Singapore retained its pole position for the non-OIC destinations, with Thailand, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Hong Kong making up the rest of the top five. According to the Index, Asia and Europe are the two leading regions attracting Muslim visitors, accounting for 87 per cent of the entire Muslim travel market.

The study further said that there were 117 million Muslim visitor arrivals globally, and this is forecasted to grow to 168 million visitors by 2020, with a market value projected to exceed $200 billion.