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| Source: Mastercard, CrescentRating. |
The top trends include:
· The integration of augmented reality to give Muslim travellers crucial cultural insights, including eateries that are halal-certified.
· The proliferation of chatbots which are custom-designed to satisfy the cultural and religious needs of a Muslim traveller.
· Non-traditional destinations such as Japan and Taiwan will increasingly attract Muslim travellers.
Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), coupled with the increased penetration of smartphones, will also drive new trends that will redefine the Muslim travel experience – from planning to purchasing, and sharing travel adventures.
Driven by the demand for more authentic, affordable and accessible experiences, more Millennials and Gen Z travellers will book “instant noodle trips” - affordable, impromptu short trips.
In addition, heightened awareness on social causes and the rising authority of female influencers when planning trips, are also expected to result in changes in the way that Muslims travel.
The report also foresees non-OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) destinations, such as Japan and Taiwan, will change the Muslim-friendly narrative. Competition and dynamism are expected lead to innovations and developments that will benefit both destinations as well as Muslim travellers.
Finally, the report foresees the consolidation of Muslim travel service providers that will potentially result in the emergence of stronger Muslim lifestyle and travel brands.
"We hope this motivates all players to embrace and further benefit from the growth.” said Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating and HalalTrip.
“The Halal Travel Frontier 2019 Report gives businesses, governments and other stakeholders in the travel sector an overview of the trends sweeping the fast-growing halal travel industry and how they can maximise opportunities in this fast growing travel sector,” said Safdar Khan, Division President, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, Mastercard.
The global Muslim traveller expenditure is projected to reach US$220 billion in 2020 according to the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2018. It is expected to grow a further US$80 billion to hit US$300 billion by 2026. In 2017, there were an estimated 131 million Muslim visitor arrivals globally - up from 121 million in 2016 - and this is forecast to grow to 156 million visitors by 2020, representing 10% of the global travel segment.
Explore:
Read the Halal Travel Frontier 2019 report
Check out the WorkSmart Asia blog post on digital halal travel trends
Read the Suroor Asia blog post on the Japan Muslim Travel Index 2017
Hashtag: #HTF2019
