KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — Malaysia has once again topped the list of best Muslim-friendly holiday destinations for Muslim travellers according to MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2021.
Malaysia remained the top-ranked destination in the GMTI 2021 as it had been since the launch of the index which monitors the overall performance of the Muslim travel market in 2015.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri in her keynote speech at the Halal In Travel Global Summit 2021 said Malaysia remains fully supportive and committed to further developing the Muslim-friendly Travel segment, which has become increasingly significant to the global tourism market.
She also noted the key roles of the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC), an entity under Motac in charge of Islamic tourism-related affairs, particularly Islamic Tourism research and training as contributions towards the recognition.
“Perhaps what can be regarded as ITC’s leading edge is its standing among international destinations, governmental agencies, and tourism organisations overseas in leading the concept of Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality.
ITC’s involvement at the regional and international level also includes being chair of several committees to establish guidelines and standards for Muslim-Friendly tourism services,” she said at the conference held virtually today.
Nancy said one of ITC’s key efforts was the Muslim-Friendly Accommodation Recognition (MFAR) programme which recognises hotels and resorts that cater to the Muslim tourist market needs and to date, a total of 44 hotels in the country have been recognised by ITC under MFAR programme.
The GMTI 2021 report ranks 140 destinations on their readiness to attract the Muslim travel market in the Covid-19 environment taking into account key factors including ease of access, environment and services provided by travel destination. — Bernama
