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CrescentRating — World's Leading Authority on Halal Travel
Shopping Malls & Retail

Capturing the Fastest-Growing Shoppers to Your Malls and Retail Destinations

The global Muslim travel market reached $189B in 2024 and is on course for $235B by 2030. CrescentRating gives shopping malls and retail destinations the certification, intelligence, and trained teams to lead in this market, not just participate in it.

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17+Years
150+Destinations Ranked
HMC
186M
Arrivals 2025
$235B
Market by 2030
Market Intelligence

The opportunity is measurable.
The window is now.

Millions of Muslim travelers choose shopping destinations and retail experiences as a core part of their trips. Position your mall to capture this high-growth segment:

$235B
Muslim travel expenditure projected by 2030
Up from $189B in 2024
186M
International Muslim arrivals in 2025
+6% year-on-year growth
245M
Projected Muslim arrivals by 2030
Fastest-growing travel segment globally
2.19B
Global Muslim population in 2025
Growing to 2.54B by 2035
GMTI 2025Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index, 10th Edition — 150 destinations ranked
The Challenge

Why most malls miss this audience.

Muslim shoppers are one of the fastest-growing and most loyalty-driven consumer segments in global retail travel. Yet most malls and retail destinations are not positioned to capture them. The gap is not ambition. It is five operational blind spots that repeat across properties of every scale.

"Malls that treat Muslim-friendly certification as a compliance checkbox rather than a shopper audience strategy consistently underperform those that approach it as a genuine competitive differentiator."

CrescentRating Retail Advisory

01

A common misconception worth addressing

Becoming Muslim-friendly does not mean narrowing your shopper profile. It means expanding it: adding a high-value, fast-growing visitor segment without displacing any customer already visiting your mall. Muslim shoppers are among the highest-spending, most loyalty-driven retail consumer groups globally.

02

Invisible to Muslim shoppers at the planning stage

Muslim visitors research prayer facilities, halal dining, and certified venues before they make a trip. Malls and retail destinations without verified credentials are filtered out before they even appear on a visitor's shortlist, regardless of the quality of their tenant mix or retail experience.

03

No credible, independent certification

Self-declared "Muslim-friendly" claims carry zero weight with today's informed Muslim shopper. Without independent third-party certification against a recognised global standard, your investment in prayer rooms and halal F&B goes unnoticed and unbooked by this segment.

04

Facility gaps that undermine repeat visits

A single prayer room in an inconvenient location, limited ablution facilities, or halal dining restricted to one or two outlets: inconsistency destroys trust and word-of-mouth. Muslim shoppers share reviews extensively within community networks, and a single poor experience reverberates far beyond the individual visit.

05

Staff and tenants unprepared for Muslim shopper needs

Frontline teams across concierge, F&B, and retail operations typically lack the training to respond consistently to Muslim visitor requirements, particularly during peak periods such as Ramadan and Eid, when Muslim shopping intent and expenditure are at their annual peak.

Proprietary Intelligence

The Muslim Travel Intent
Tracker (MTIT)

Know exactly when Muslim shoppers are planning their next trip. Give your mall or retail destination the intelligence to time facility upgrades, staff deployments, and promotional campaigns to match real demand, not historical assumptions.

What the MTIT publishes

Each monthly edition of the MTIT is a public report covering the current score, trend charts, seasonal patterns, a 6-month outlook, key travel windows, source market demand, and traveler profile breakdowns.

PublishedMonthly
Source markets15+
Available sinceAug 2021
Score range0 to 100
AccessFree to read
Read the latest MTIT

Current Score and Score Trend

Each edition publishes the current MTIT score on a 0 to 100 scale alongside a trend chart showing how intent has moved over recent months. Mall operators can track whether Muslim shopper intent is rising, steady, or declining and respond with the right promotions or operational adjustments accordingly.

Score and trend chart in every monthly edition

Typical Monthly Pattern and 6-Month Outlook

A radar chart shows how Muslim travel intent typically distributes across the months of the year. A forward-looking 6-month outlook projects the expected direction of intent, helping retail destinations plan campaigns and staffing well ahead of Eid and school holiday shopping peaks.

Seasonal pattern and 6-month projection included

Key Muslim Shopping Windows and Eid Periods

The report lists key Muslim travel and shopping windows in the coming months, including Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and school holiday periods. Malls with certified Muslim-friendly offerings can time promotional pushes precisely around these high-expenditure windows for maximum impact.

Travel and shopping windows tracked every edition

Where Demand Is Building and Who Is Travelling

A country-by-country table shows where outbound Muslim visitor intent is strongest each month. A separate traveler profile section breaks down the people generating that intent by trip purpose, travel party type, and booking timing, directly applicable to mall marketing campaign targeting.

Source market table and traveler profile in every edition

Services

Four capabilities. One integrated
retail destination strategy.

Every service is designed to interlock. Malls that engage across the full suite build compounding advantage: better assessment informs better standards, which powers better positioning for Muslim shoppers and visitors.

01Strategy

Strategic Consultancy

End-to-end strategy design for mall operators and retail destinations entering or scaling in the Muslim shopper segment: gap analysis, facility roadmap, halal F&B tenant mix guidance, competitor benchmarking, and a phased investment plan calibrated to your property type and visitor profile.

Facility and tenant experience gap analysis report
Phased Muslim-friendly improvement roadmap
02Standards

Crescent Rating Accreditation

Independent Bronze, Silver, or Gold certification for shopping malls and retail destinations. Provides Muslim shoppers with trusted third-party verification of your Muslim-friendly retail offering, visible on CrescentRating platforms and partner booking and discovery channels.

CrescentRating Bronze Accredited Shopping MallCrescentRating Silver Accredited Shopping MallCrescentRating Gold Accredited Shopping Mall
Bronze / Silver / Gold certificate for your property
Listed on CrescentRating and partner discovery platforms
03Capability

CR Academy Training

Structured cultural fluency training for mall and retail teams: concierge, guest services, F&B operators, and management. Curriculum covers Muslim shopper fundamentals through to operational protocols for Ramadan, Eid, and peak Muslim visitor shopping windows.

Certified staff cohorts across property operations
Ramadan and Eid operational readiness protocols
04Marketing

Marketing and Promotion

Integrated campaign design and content partnerships that position your mall as the preferred destination for Muslim shoppers. Includes editorial features, digital channel activation, and presence at the Halal In Travel Global Summit, reaching NTOs, travel trade, and Muslim consumer media.

Muslim shopper-targeted campaign execution
Editorial and summit presence on Muslim travel and lifestyle platforms

Not sure where to start?

Our retail and mall strategy team will guide you to the right engagement pathway.

Schedule a Consultation

Also on HalalTrip

Crescent Rated malls and retail destinations are discoverable by millions of Muslim travellers planning their next shopping trip on HalalTrip.com — the Muslim travel platform powered by CrescentRating.

Explore on HalalTrip
Why CrescentRating

The only firm that has been inside this market since day one.

CrescentRating is not a general retail consultancy that added Muslim-friendly to its portfolio. We have operated in this market since 2008. That depth is why mall operators and retail property directors commission us.

17+
Years in Muslim Travel

The first and only global authority on Muslim-friendly travel and retail, established before the market was on most boardroom agendas.

12
Year Mastercard Partnership

The Mastercard-CrescentRating partnership co-produces the GMTI, the most cited Muslim travel benchmark in government and industry worldwide.

25+
Countries Served

CrescentRating has delivered rating and accreditation services to tourism and hospitality establishments across more than 25 countries, supporting the growth of Muslim-friendly travel worldwide.

Global credibility that drives shopper footfall

CrescentRating is the globally recognised independent certification service for Muslim-friendly shopping malls and retail destinations worldwide.

Certification Muslim shoppers trust

Our ratings and accreditations are trusted by a growing global audience of halal-conscious travellers who search for verified shopping destinations before booking their trips.

Property-specific insights, not generic audits

We evaluate your facilities and shopper experience against a real-world standard, delivering unbiased recommendations calibrated to your mall type, tenant mix, and visitor profile.

Consistent standards across property formats

Our accreditation framework applies across regional malls, urban retail centres, outlet villages, and mixed-use destinations, maintaining verified high standards regardless of property format.

Mastercard
Mastercard
Research Partner since 2015
UN Tourism
UN Tourism
Affiliate Member
PATA
PATA
Board Member

For consumer-facing discovery, our sister platform HalalTrip connects Muslim travellers directly to Crescent Rated malls and shopping destinations.

Partner With Us

Ready to lead in
Muslim shopper experience?

The malls and retail destinations that will capture Muslim shopper loyalty through 2030 are making their strategic investments now. CrescentRating gives your property the certification, intelligence, and activation to be one of them.

Request a Strategic Briefing

A confidential 90-minute session with our retail and mall strategy team, tailored to your property type, shopper profile, and Muslim visitor market readiness.

Book a Briefing

Download the GMTI 2025

The Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 10th edition, the definitive report on 150 destinations and the trends shaping Muslim visitor travel and expenditure to 2030.

Download Report

Prefer to reach us directly?

[email protected]|Contact Us

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