SE Asia Dominates for Muslim Travelers Globally; Under-40s Driving Halal Tourism

South East Asia and Middle East regions continue to dominate in the ranking of Muslim-friendly destinations, according to the latest research and rankings by Muslim travel consultancy Crescent Rating along with its partner Mastercard.

The report dives into how the under-40s global Muslim population is now driving the next phase of growth of what many in the industry call "halal tourism." Gen Z and women travelers amongst the Muslim population will drive the growth from here on, according to the report.

From the report: "This year’s ranking reflects those efforts by the destination. Malaysia continues to maintain its top position in the GMTI 2022. However, the gap between Malaysia and other top Muslim-friendly destinations is narrowing.Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey share second place. Uzbekistan has again shown significant improvement in the ranking, climbing 7 positions to be ranked no. 9 this year. Singapore is still the only non-OIC country to make it to the top 20 of the GMTI 2022 rankings."

These four charts from the report are most instructive on the state of the market: