- Ozgur Tore
A new comprehensive research finds out the top performing Muslim travel destinations in 2017. In 2016, the estimated total Muslim visitor arrivals were 121 million, up from 117 in 2015, representing 10 percent of the entire travel economy. This is expected to grow to 156 million travelers in 2020, spending over US$220 billion.
According to the most comprehensive research released on the global Muslim travel market, The Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2017, announced the top ranking countries for global Muslim travel. The study ranks top countries of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as well as non-OIC.
Malaysia and Singapore continue to top the list of OIC and non-OIC markets for the third consecutive year.
Singapore retained its pole position for the non-OIC destinations, with Thailand, the UK, South Africa and Hong Kong rounding up the top five. Japan moved up two places to take sixth spot with Spain entering the top 10 for the first time.
| Overall Top 10 Destinations (OIC & Non-OIC) | ||||
| 2017 | 2016 | |||
| Rank | Destination | Score | Destination | Score |
| 1 | Malaysia | 82.5 | Malaysia | 81.9 |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates | 76.9 | United Arab Emirates | 74.7 |
| 3 | Indonesia | 72.6 | Turkey | 73.9 |
| 4 | Turkey | 72.4 | Indonesia | 70.6 |
| 5 | Saudi Arabia | 71.4 | Qatar | 70.5 |
| 6 | Qatar | 70.5 | Saudi Arabia | 70.4 |
| 7 | Morocco | 68.1 | Oman | 70.3 |
| 8 | Oman | 67.9 | Singapore | 68.4 |
| 9 | Bahrain | 67.9 | Morocco | 68.3 |
| 10 | Singapore | 67.3 | Jordan | 65.4 |
| Top 10 OIC Destinations | ||||
| 2017 | 2016 | |||
| Rank | Destination | Score | Destination | Score |
| 1 | Malaysia | 82.5 | Malaysia | 81.9 |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates | 76.9 | United Arab Emirates | 74.7 |
| 3 | Indonesia | 72.6 | Turkey | 73.9 |
| 4 | Turkey | 72.4 | Indonesia | 70.6 |
| 5 | Saudi Arabia | 71.4 | Qatar | 70.5 |
| 6 | Qatar | 70.5 | Saudi Arabia | 70.4 |
| 7 | Morocco | 68.1 | Oman | 70.3 |
| 8 | Oman | 67.9 | Morocco | 68.3 |
| 9 | Bahrain | 67.9 | Jordan | 65.4 |
| 10 | Iran | 66.8 | Bahrain | 65.3 |
| Top 10 Non-OIC Destinations | ||||
| 2017 | 2016 | |||
| Rank | Destination | Score | Destination | Score |
| 1 | Singapore | 67.3 | Singapore | 68.4 |
| 2 | Thailand | 61.8 | Thailand | 59.5 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 60.0 | United Kingdom | 59.0 |
| 4 | South Africa | 53.6 | South Africa | 53.1 |
| 5 | Hong Kong | 53.2 | Hong Kong | 53.0 |
| 6 | Japan | 52.8 | France | 51.6 |
| 7 | Taiwan | 52.4 | Taiwan | 50.1 |
| 8 | France | 52.1 | Japan | 49.1 |
| 9 | Spain | 48.8 | Sri Lanka | 49.0 |
| 10 | United States | 48.6 | United States | 48.9 |