PUTRAJAYA – Malaysia was announced the Best Muslim-Friendly Destination (OIC Category) and the Best Muslim Women-Friendly Destination by Mastercard and CrescentRating at the Halal in Travel Awards held in Singapore today.
Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said it was also confirmed at the event that Malaysia has retained top spot in the Best Muslim-Friendly Destination chart in the Global Muslim Travel Index 2023 report.
The tourism, arts, and culture minister said the achievement further strengthens Malaysia's position and branding as a leader in the Muslim tourism and Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality segments at the regional and international level.
“Muslims are now a fast-growing segment of the tourism industry and the Muslim population is estimated to have reached two billion worldwide,” he said in a statement today.
“The recovery rate of Islamic tourism at the global level has also been encouraging when 110 million Muslim tourist arrivals were recorded last year.
“It was also a proud achievement for Malaysia when it managed to attract 2.12 million Muslim tourists to the country last year and their total expenditure was RM5.37 billion,” he added.
Tiong said local entrepreneurs and industry players are encouraged to offer Muslim-friendly hospitality services as an added value in expanding the country’s Islamic tourism industry.
He urged them to attend courses and programmes under the Malaysian Islamic Tourism Centre, including the Muslim-Friendly Tourist Guide course open to licensed local tour guides, and the Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality Assurance and Recognition programme which provides business development opportunities through the fast-growing Islamic tourism sector. – Bernama, June 1, 2023
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