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Türkiye Loses Spot to Indonesia in Giant Muslim Travel Market

Türkiye Loses Spot to Indonesia in Giant Muslim Travel Market
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Türkiye has dropped one spot to fourth among top performing destinations of a sector expected to be worth $220 billion by 2020, according to the Global Muslim Travel Index 2017 released by Mastercard and CrescentRating in Jakarta earlier this month. 

The index saw Türkiye lose its position behind Malaysia, which kept the top spot, while Indonesia moved up to third place in the overall rankings.

The study, which covers 130 destinations, showed a number of non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) destinations in Asia move up the rankings, a result of the concerted effort to adapt their services to cater to and attract the Muslim travel market.

Singapore retained its pole position among the non-OIC destinations, with Thailand, the U.K., 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 study 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 $80 billion to reach $300 billion by 2026, according to the study.

It was also revealed that in 2016 there were an estimated 121 million Muslim visitor arrivals globally – up from 117 million in 2015 – and is forecasted to reach 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 index score of 57.6, with Africa coming in second place at 47.0, followed by Oceania at 43.8, Europe at 39.9 and the Americas at 33.7. 

Indonesia fashion week, one out of many attractions | The Jakarta Post
Indonesia fashion week, one out of many attractions | The Jakarta Post



Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating & HalalTrip, said the index continues to reveal detailed insights that will assist destinations in better understanding the shifting needs of the segment.

“We are definitely seeing the influence of a new breed of young travelers, millennials and Generation 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 which destinations like Türkiye will have to embrace and implement measures accordingly to make progress in the rankings going forward,” he added. 

“These younger travelers 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,” he said. 

Safdar Khan, the division president of Mastercard in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, said that 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 digitization shaping the way the industry is progressing,” Khan said. 

“Technology for example is improving the experiences of Muslim travelers 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,” Khan added.

This article was first published on HurriyetNews on May 4th, 2017

Akhyari Hananto

I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to More understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia. I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine. I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan" I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy Less
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