By: Enterprise Innovation editors
Source: Enterprise Innovation
Cities from the Asia-Pacific region have today been named as the world’s top shopping destinations for Muslim tourists, according to MasterCard and Crescent Rating.
Their joint Muslim Shopping Travel Index 2015 (MTSI 2015) has revealed Muslim travellers spent a total of $62 billion globally in shopping ($36 billion) and dining ($26 billion) in 2014.
In a list led by Dubai, Kuala Lumpur was second on the overall list of 40 cities which also included Singapore in third spot and the top non-OIC city on the list.
The 40 international cities covered in the MTSI 2015 were scored against a comprehensive set of metrics which included suitability as a shopping destination, Muslim friendly services and facilities and ease of travel. Each criterion was then weighted to make up the overall index score.
Bali also made into the top 10 (at No. 10) followed by Penang at No. 11. In total, Asia Pacific contributed 14 cities to the overall top 40 list.
A significant highlight of the MTSI 2015 was the high number of non-OIC countries featuring in the top 40 list — counting 25 or more than half of the list.
The Global Muslim Travel Index 2015 launched earlier this year showed that in 2014, the Muslim travel segment was worth $145 billion with 108 million Muslim travellers representing 10% of the entire travel economy.
This is forecast to grow to 150 million visitors by 2020 and 11% of the market segment with a market value projected to grow to $200 billion.