CrescentRating has evaluated destinations around the world over the last four years and ranked them based on how well they cater to Muslim travellers. This article takes a closer look at MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index and how it became a benchmark for the Halal tourism industry.
In 2011, CrescentRating published the first ever research into the Halal travel market with the release of the Top 10 Muslim-friendly holiday destinations.
A year later, the report was enhanced to include new data to distinguish between destinations with a large Muslim population (OIC member states) and others. The 2012 report included rankings of the Top 10 Muslim friendly OIC holiday destinations and Top 10 Muslim friendly non-OIC holiday destinations.
In 2013, the Index further evolved to cover 50 destinations across the world with each rated out of a score of 10. This list was expanded to cover 60 destinations in 2014.
The MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) is a natural progression of the previous research released by CrescentRating during the last four years. This partnership means the GMTI 2015 will be the most comprehensive research released on this fast growing travel segment.
For those in the tourism industry, the GMTI will be an invaluable tool in understanding just how Muslim travel is impacting the overall travel market.
The index will provide every stakeholder in the travel and hospitality sector, including travelers, tourism boards, economists, travel services providers, stakeholders, investors and industry specialists with comprehensive benchmarks across a number of important criteria to track the health and the growth of this travel segment.
The GMTI 2015 studies an enhanced set of metrics and deeper data compared with the rankings and reports released over the last four years by CrescentRating. It will help destinations and those responsible for tourism to better benchmark the services they offer and use the detailed analysis in the report to improve processes and how they attract the Muslim traveler. In addition, travelers will have the information to make educated choices when planning trips.
The GMTI 2015 looks at nine criteria in three areas that contribute to the overall index score for each destination. Each of the criteria is elaborated upon further into the report.
Suitability as a holiday destination, family friendliness and safety
Muslim friendly services and facilities available at the destination
Halal awareness and reach out to Muslims by the destination
To access the complete Global Muslim Travel Index 2015, please visit: http://gmti.crescentrating.com/mastercard-crescentrating-global-muslim-travel-index-2015-gmti2015.html
