There is hope and optimism in the air as we start the new decade with several tourism revolutions on the horizon. To forecast these developments, Mastercard and Crescentrating have combined insights from previous reports, expert opinions from industry specialists, and data from multiple digital platforms to identify 16 key trends that will shape the next phase of halal tourism development.
The latest CrescentRating-Mastercard Halal Travel Frontier 2020 (HTF2020) report is the third edition in the series. This report represents another milestone to share the collective industry knowledge, thought-leadership, and resources to develop the growing Muslim travel market.
The past decade saw Halal Tourism or Muslim Friendly Tourism develop from a niche market to mainstream. In time, Muslim travelers will become trendsetters. They will continue to be instrumental in correcting misunderstandings and clarifying narratives about Halal tourism and Muslims in general. This will be done by generating inclusive content that is shared responsibly.
As identified in the CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2019, we have entered the Halal Travel 2.0 phase. Demographic and environmental changes continue to affect the role of media and its impact on viewers. New influencers such as Daud Kim have emerged and are sharing stories that are more authentic and relatable. In addition, TV series such as Ertugrul rekindle the interest of Muslims to better learn about past figures and places.
In terms of social activism, social causes are now at the forefront and no longer an afterthought. Travel and social impact will be intertwined. Social activism and travel work hand in hand, whether that means contributing to local businesses, working with social impact organizations as part of travel and taking care to pay attention to sustainability. This attitude helps build up local communities as this demographic embraces the world - an indication that embracing diversity begins a positive cycle that ripples out its benefits worldwide.
Finally, technology continues to be a central driver in enhancing and creating new experiences in the tourism sector. These are just some of the trends uncovered in this report.
The trends within this report provide focus to organizations, tourism operators and merchants looking to engage with this community and further their businesses and communities with expert information on how to better hone their offerings to this powerful demographic.
We hope these insights inspire stakeholders in the travel industry, entrepreneurs, and startups to tap into the immense opportunities for growth the Muslim travel market has to offer.
1. The Emergence Of The “Muslim Social Impact Travel” Spirit
Driven by the global trend of social awareness and faith, a growing number of Muslim travelers are increasingly conscious of making a social impact when they travel.
2. Ensuring Off-Track Destinations Are On Track With Muslim Travel Needs
With heightened concerns of over-tourism in popular destinations adversely impacting the quality of life for residents and visitors, more people will choose to visit less-traveled destinations.
3. Overcoming Islamophobia One Step At A Time
In some parts of the world, hate crimes have been committed towards Muslims due to Islamophobia. Despite these, Muslim travelers may still choose to visit such destinations out of necessity for business or visiting friends and relatives (VFR). [DN(1]
4. Towards A Global Travel Wallet For Travelers
Enabled by advancements in security features such as facial recognition and biometrics, e-wallets and mobile payments are rapidly growing in popularity among travelers.
5. Multiple Activities Driving Growth Of Muslim Female Travelers
In 2018, Muslim women comprised 45% of the Muslim travel market. The continued growth of this segment in 2020 will lead to a greater dynamism of activities involving Muslim women travelers.
6. Halal Gastronomy To The Mainstream
As Halal food becomes available in more destinations, services and operators will redesign their culinary activities to be inclusive and Muslim-friendly, pioneering a new wave of Halal-centric gastronomy tours and activities.
7. The Daud Kim Effect: Amidst The Digital Noise, Young Muslims Find Daud Kim Relatable
With their effective reach and raw messaging, influencers like Daud Kim will play a positive role in changing mindsets and helping improve the perception of Muslim travelers around the world.
8. The Ertugrul Phenomenon
The “Ertugrul Phenomenon” has been spurred by a string of high-quality and well-produced shows inspired by Islamic history and heritage. These shows are having the same effects as Lord of the Rings for New Zealand, and K-Drama and K-Pop for Korea.
9. Diversity Guiding Responsible Content Sharing
While the debate on whether social media companies and governments should play a more active role in policing online behavior continues, we do see the emergence of responsible content sharing of unique stories by diverse groups of people.
10. Resurrection Of Lost Heritage Sites And Islamic History
With moves to grow and promote tourism in Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, [DN(2] 2020 will see the resurrection of lost heritage sites. More OIC destinations will embrace this trend and uncover heritage that may be of interest to Muslim visitors.
11. Sustainability As A Sore For Halal Travel
Sustainability will become increasingly central to shaping both business and consumer decisions in the tourism sector. Future travelers will begin to reward destinations and companies that are able to provide quality services while being eco-friendly and culturally respectful.
12. Umrah DIY: Tech Innovation And The Gold Rush For Behavior Data
With the launch of the new electronic tourist Visas to Saudi Arabia and having the Umrah services inventory online, the next opportunity of the Umrah market will be in the evolution of the digital space.
13. Transition Point In Halal Lifestyle Events
Halal lifestyle events will no longer be in the emergent phase of the conference and exhibitions industry. Their maturity will be signaled by a shift towards better quality events.
14. Muslim Business Travelers As Service Catalysts
The Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) sector has been slow to respond to the growth of the Muslim market. That is beginning to change now as the wave of Muslim travel influence is spreading to the MICE sector.
15. Reframing Halal Tourism For Inbound Markets
Destinations that traditionally have held prominence among non-Muslims may find obstacles driving Halal tourism. These destinations will drive a more Muslim friendly narrative to ensure a more inclusive environment.
16. Future Ready Travel Sector For Gen Z and Gen Alpha
This year, Gen Z Muslims will enter the workforce and will play a key role in determining the next phase of Halal travel. In addition, Gen Alpha will enter the picture as another set of travelers that will critically shape travel behaviors for Muslim families.
The full report is now available at: https://www.crescentrating.com/halal-muslim-travel-market-reports.html.
