Malaysia rated top Muslim-friendly holiday destination
From Adamslist
18 January 2013
SINGAPORE — Malaysia has been rated the world’s top Muslim-friendly holiday destination in a survey that listed Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Singapore as runners-up.
The study by Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy Crescentrating ranked countries on how well they cater to the growing number of Muslim holidaymakers seeking halal — or Islam-compliant — food and services. Fifty nations were covered in the survey, half of which are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
It used criteria including the level of safety in a country, the ease of access to halal food and prayer facilities, and whether hotels cater to the needs of Muslim guests.
On a scale of one to 10 in which 10 is the best score, Malaysia came out number one with a grade of 8.3 among 50 nations surveyed.
Egypt was in second place with 6.7, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Turkey both with 6.6. Saudi Arabia was in fourth place with a score of 6.4 and Singapore was fifth with 6.3.
Indonesia, Morocco and Jordan scored 6.1 to tie in sixth place, trailed by seventh-place Brunei, Qatar, Tunisia and Oman, all with a score of 6.0.
All of these countries, with the exception of Singapore, are OIC members. Malaysia topped Crescentrating’s list for the 3rd year. “It is still the best place to enjoy your holiday and at the same time be completely worry free when it comes to finding Halal food and prayer places almost everywhere,” the report said.
Crescentrating chief executive Fazal Bahardeen said the survey was taken from the point of view of the traveller, meaning that it measured the ease of access by Muslim tourists — not locals — to halal food and facilities.
“Malaysia is one of the few countries where you can find a prayer place in almost every location — be it a shopping mall or the airport,” Fazal told AFP.
He said that while Malaysian authorities have been focusing on the market for several years, Indonesia — the world’s most populous Muslim nation — has not done as well. “The main problem for Indonesia is that it’s not straightforward for a Muslim visitor to find halal food availability. For locals it’s probably not an issue.” Indonesia has recently focused on making it easier to locate halal restaurants and other services for Muslim visitors.
Saudi Arabia figured as a holiday destination for the first time since the survey started in 2011 because more Muslims use their holidays to go there to perform the Umrah, a minor pilgrimage, Fazal said.
Non Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) destinations
For the top 10 non-OIC destinations, Fazal disclosed that Singapore was top on the list in this category this year.
He said accessibility of halal food at the main tourist hotspots in Singapore were even comparable to some of the OIC destinations.
Singapore is followed by Bosnia & Herzegovina, which is emerging as a popular destination for Muslim travellers.
“Thailand and South Africa are next on the list,” he said.
Fazal said both these destinations had strong halal certification bodies, hence making it easier for visitors to find halal certified food outlets while holidaying there.
He said India, UK, Sri Lanka, Australia, Germany and Hong Kong made up the top 10 in this category.
Although these destinations cater to the needs of Muslim travellers in parts of the destinations, Fazal said accessibility of halal food and prayer places were still not that straightforward in these destinations.
Shopping destinations
In terms of cities as a shopping destination, Dubai pipped Kuala Lumpur for the number-one spot, according to the survey which rated the presence of halal food and prayer facilities at shopping malls.
Istanbul, Jeddah, Singapore, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, London and Doha completed the top-10 shopping destinations.
Muslim friendly airports
Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport were rated among the friendliest to Muslim travellers.
Crescentrating’s Top 10 Halal Friendly Holidays Destinations for 2013
| OIC Destinations | Non-OIC Destinations | |
| 1. Malaysia
2. Egypt 3. United Arab Emirates 4. Turkey 5. Saudi Arabia 6. Indonesia 7. Morocco 8. Jordan 9. Brunei 10. Qatar |
1. Singapore
2. Bosnia & Herzegovina 3. Thailand 4. South Africa 5. India 6. United Kingdom 7. Sri Lanka 8. Australia 9. Germany 10. Hong Kong |
Crescentrating’s Top 10 Halal Friendly Shopping Destinations for 2013
| OIC Destinations | Non-OIC Destinations |
| 1. Dubai | |
| 2. Kuala Lumpur | |
| 3. Istanbul | |
| 4. Jeddah | |
| 1. Singapore | |
| 5. Cairo | |
| 6. Abu Dhabi | |
| 2. Delhi | |
| 3. London | |
| 7. Doha | |
| 4. Bangkok | |
| 8. Jakarta | |
| 5. Mumbai | |
| 6. Johannesburg | |
| 7. Hong Kong | |
| 9. Amman | |
| 10. Bali | |
| 8. New York City | |
| 9. Melbourne | |
| 10. Barcelona |
Spending by Muslim tourists is growing faster than the global rate and is forecast to reach $192 billion a year by 2020, up from $126 billion in 2011, according to a study by Crescentrating and another company released last year.
This article was compiled from the following sources:
http://muslimvillage.com/2013/01/18/34282/malaysia-rated-most-muslim-friendly-destination/
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/82101
http://www.arabnews.com/node/438230