Turkey has ranked second in halal tourism among the members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The country came only second to joint leaders Indonesia and Malaysia in offering the best halal-compliant tourism services and the best conditions for Muslim tourists. In the listing of only-OIC member countries, Turkey was followed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the Mastercard-Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2019, Indonesia joined Malaysia with a score of 78 points among 130 global destinations, within and outside the OIC.
Other OIC countries, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Oman and Brunei, continue to be popular with Muslim tourists. "These destinations can continue to reap the benefits of their inherently Muslim-friendly environment by leveraging new technologies to strategically build services that better engage young, millennial Muslim travelers," the report said. Among non-OIC countries, Singapore, Thailand, the U.K., Japan and Taiwan have retained their positions in the top five and have further improved their scores on the index. "In a first for South Korea and the Philippines, these countries have entered the top 10 non-OIC destinations, displacing Germany and Australia. "Spain has also entered the list of top 10 non-OIC countries, emerging as a key halal-friendly European destination for Muslim travelers this year," a statement by the GMTI said.
