What is the PAINS Framework?

The PAINS Framework is CrescentRating's proprietary tool for mapping the five barriers Muslim women consistently encounter across global destinations: Privacy, Amenities, Identity, Networks, and Safety. Introduced in the 2019 Muslim Women in Travel report, it provides tourism boards with a shared, evidence-based language for addressing gaps invisible in standard tourism data.

What does Privacy mean in the PAINS Framework?

Privacy addresses modesty and personal seclusion requirements for Muslim women travellers. It covers the absence of genuinely private spaces — from hotel pools without screen coverage to prayer facilities with no gender separation. Destinations can address this through dedicated, clearly signposted private spaces, women-only changing areas, and screened prayer facilities.

What does Amenities mean in the PAINS Framework?

Amenities covers faith-based infrastructure — prayer rooms, ablution areas, halal food, and family-configuration accommodation. MWIT 2026 documents a persistent infrastructure deficit where these amenities exist but are rarely designed with Muslim women's specific needs in mind.

What does Identity mean in the PAINS Framework?

Identity addresses the layered biases Muslim women navigate — gender, ethnicity, and visible faith expression. MWIT 2026 found that encounters with bias are not outlier experiences but a documented, recurring feature of travelling while visibly Muslim and female. Destinations can respond through cultural competency training for frontline staff and visible representation in marketing.

What does Networks mean in the PAINS Framework?

Networks addresses social proof and peer recommendation, which drive destination selection for Muslim women more than any other channel. 68% report social media directly influenced their travel decisions. Destinations that facilitate authentic community connections — curated directories, local Muslim women's networks — build loyalty and organic advocacy.

What does Safety mean in the PAINS Framework?

Safety covers both physical security and freedom from Islamophobia. MWIT 2026 identifies Islamophobia as the barrier with the single highest impact on destination decisions for Muslim women. 60% cite general safety and comfort as their most important destination factor. A strong GMTI safety score is one of the clearest destination differentiators in this market.

Muslim Women in Travel

Muslim women now represent 48% of all Muslim international arrivals.Most destinations still aren't designed for them.

In 2025, 90 million Muslim women made international trips, up 43% from 2019. They are primary decision-makers in family and group travel, and more than half are willing to pay a premium for accommodation that genuinely understands their needs. The gap between what they expect and what most destinations offer is not marginal. PAINS bridges that gap.

90M

Muslim women travellers globally

2025 · up from 63M in 2019

48%

of all Muslim international arrivals are women

up from 45% in 2019 · MWIT 2026

56%

willing to pay a premium for Muslim-friendly accommodation

MWIT 2026 consumer survey

$235B

projected Muslim travel expenditure by 2030

CrescentRating data

About the Framework

PAINS is the measurement tool that turns a market gap into an addressable destination strategy.

Introduced in the 2019 Muslim Women in Travel report, PAINS is CrescentRating's proprietary framework for mapping the barriers Muslim women consistently encounter across global destinations. It was built on a single observation: the challenges this segment faces are not random or anecdotal. They cluster into five distinct, measurable categories.

Every MWIT market assessment and every GMTI destination score passes through these five dimensions, giving tourism boards and destination authorities a shared, evidence-based language for gaps that were previously invisible in standard tourism data. Expand any dimension below to understand the barrier in depth, hear it in travellers' own words, and see the specific opportunity it represents for your destination.

PAINS Framework: Privacy, Amenities, Identity, Networks, Safety

With modesty and personal seclusion being non-negotiable for many Muslim women, regardless of whether they wear a hijab, the absence of genuinely private spaces remains one of the most consistent friction points documented since MWIT 2019. From hotel swimming pools without adequate screen coverage to prayer facilities that offer no gender separation, the gap is rarely about intent. It is about design consideration that most destinations have never been required to make. For tourism boards, the question is not whether to add private spaces, it is whether the absence of them is already costing bookings that never appear in your data because this segment simply didn't book.

“I arrange my day and outings based on prayer times, especially when I know it would be challenging to find a private space to pray. That way, I do not need to be in a rush while I am outside.”
Tanita D. Rahmani · Reporter and Producer

Opportunity for Destinations

Dedicated, clearly signposted private spaces, women-only changing areas, screened prayer facilities, modesty-ready beach or pool zones, signal genuine inclusion without requiring a wholesale redesign. Even modest, visible changes communicate readiness to a segment that relies heavily on peer validation and social proof before committing to a destination.

Source

Mastercard-CrescentRating Muslim Women in Travel 2026

From Research to Destination Strategy

PAINS is your gap analysis. Not a checklist.

The MWIT 2026 report uses the PAINS Framework as its analytical spine. CrescentRating benchmarks destinations across each of the five dimensions, producing a scored, comparable picture of where your destination currently stands and where the most commercially significant gaps lie.

For tourism boards, the framework does not prescribe a single solution. It gives your leadership team the language and the evidence to make informed, prioritised investment decisions, aligned to your GMTI ranking trajectory and your destination's specific Muslim women traveller profile.

Benchmark

MWIT 2026 scores destinations across each PAINS dimension, giving your board a comparable, evidence-based baseline against peer markets.

Diagnose

Each dimension score isolates specific friction points, whether inadequate women-only facilities, perceived safety deficits, or identity-based barriers at the service level.

Prioritise

Not every dimension demands equal investment. The gap analysis surfaces the highest-ROI improvement areas for your destination's specific traveller profile.

Act

CrescentRating's advisory, accreditation, and training services map directly onto each PAINS dimension, turning research findings into measurable, GMTI-visible destination change.

Research Publication

Mastercard-CrescentRating
Muslim Women in Travel 2026

Standard destination benchmarks measure infrastructure and policy, they do not capture the lived experience of Muslim women. MWIT 2026 uses the PAINS Framework as its analytical spine, giving tourism authorities a diagnostic tool grounded in traveller reality, not proxy indicators.

Access MWIT ResearchMay 2026 · Mastercard-CrescentRating

Source: Mastercard-CrescentRating Muslim Women in Travel 2026

CrescentRating Advisory

Five dimensions identified. One integrated destination strategy.

The PAINS Framework is the diagnostic. CrescentRating's strategy team turns each gap into a board-ready action plan, prioritised by dimension, benchmarked against peer markets, and structured for measurable, GMTI-visible improvement.

Not sure where to start? Our destination strategy team will guide your board to the right engagement pathway, from initial PAINS gap analysis through to on-the-ground implementation.

Schedule a Consultation

Muslim women now represent 48% of all Muslim international arrivals.Most destinations still aren't designed for them.

PAINS is the measurement tool that turns a market gap into an addressable destination strategy.

Muslim women now represent 48% of all Muslim international arrivals.Most destinations still aren't designed for them.

PAINS is the measurement tool that turns a market gap into an addressable destination strategy.