Muslim travelers spent $45 billion in 2017, but according to the Digital Muslim Travel Report 2018 (DMTR), this travel sector is expected to increase their online travel purchases to $180 billion by 2026.
Mastercard and CrescentRating put together this report as an extension of a study on Muslim Millennial Travelers and it is the first comprehensive report that examines the online travel patterns and attitudes of Muslim travelers.
The results show that online travel products and websites play a role in enhancing the Muslim travel experience especially in terms of their faith-based needs.
Muslim millennial travelers are no different than other travel groups like Gen X or Boomers who use digital tech for their travel needs, however, those who would like to reach the Muslim jetsetting sector would "need to ensure that their messages reach Muslim travelers through both mainstream online channels and niche sites" which target this market.
The report says that such channels should "be agile enough to appear properly in different platforms, and smart enough to promote the right content based on the user's intention."
Devesh Kuwadekar, Mastercard's vice president for market development points out: "The Halal travel market continues to be one of the fastest growing travel segments globally, with Muslim visitor arrivals representing about 10 percent of the entire travel industry globally in 2017."
"Muslim travelers are spending more time online researching and comparing information before they finally choose and pay for their ideal travel experience. Mastercard works with like-minded partners to create tailored offerings for customers across a wide range of passion points."
The Digital Muslim Travel Report also broke down the study to show how and when Muslim travelers go on trips. For instance, 61% travel two to three times a year and their trips usually last four to six days. Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan are the top three preferred destinations by Muslim travelers.
Although the study found that 63% of Muslim travelers prefer arranging their own itineraries rather than having a travel agent do it for them, Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating and its sister company HalalTrip, sees the DMTR as a tool that travel agents could use to better reach this market.
Bahardeen said, "It will equip tourism destinations, tour operators, airlines and other tourism and hospitality stakeholders with insights of online platforms and social networking services to evaluate the potential within the Muslim market. With the rapid proliferation of enabling online technologies and payment methods and the rise of Muslim digital natives, as a major segment within the Muslim travel market, the outlook for the digital space is very positive."
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