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| Source: Mastercard, CrescentRating. |
The report analyses changes in the halal travel space, and provides insights on how these trends will impact and influence the Muslim traveller. It predicts how technology, the environment and social activism will bring about major changes in all aspects of the halal travel industry and make it easier for Muslim travellers to explore the world.
The 17 top trends include:
· The integration of augmented reality to give Muslim travellers crucial cultural insights, including eateries that are halal-certified.
· The proliferation of chatbots which are custom-designed to satisfy the cultural and religious needs of a Muslim traveller.
· A streamlined visa approval process for Muslims travelling to Mecca to perform umrah.
· Non-traditional destinations such as Japan and Taiwan will increasingly attract Muslim travellers.
Changes in the umrah visa process and the rise of new interactive technology will mean that traditional Hajj and umrah service providers will face disruption in their business models. Young Millennial Muslim travellers will now also be able to book their own do-it-yourself (DIY) umrah. This means that existing players will need to re-invent themselves and re-imagine the services they offer to stay relevant.
Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), coupled with the increased penetration of smartphones, will also drive new trends that will redefine the Muslim travel experience – from planning to purchasing, and sharing travel adventures.
Driven by the demand for more authentic, affordable and accessible experiences, more Millennials and Gen Z travellers will book “instant noodle trips” - affordable, impromptu short trips.
In addition, heightened awareness on social causes and the rising authority of female influencers when planning trips, are also expected to result in changes in the way that Muslims travel.
The report also foresees non-OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) destinations, such as Japan and Taiwan, will dramatically change the Muslim-friendly narrative. Competition and dynamism are expected lead to innovations and developments that will benefit both destinations as well as Muslim travellers.
Finally, the report foresees the consolidation of Muslim travel service providers that will potentially result in the emergence of stronger Muslim lifestyle and travel brands.
“Being at the forefront of the Muslim travel market during the last 10 years, CrescentRating is in a unique position with access to extensive data and insights to have a holistic view of the market. We have also been able to augment these insights by the emerging Muslim traveller behaviour patterns we see on our HalalTrip website and mobile app, as well as the consumer purchasing behaviour trends observed by Mastercard.
"This has enabled us to identify key trends so that all stakeholders can prepare and benefit from the changes about to happen. We hope this motivates all players to embrace and further benefit from the growth.” said Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating and HalalTrip.
“Mastercard has been working with CrescentRating to create invaluable research insights to enhance the payments landscape, encourage cross-border commerce, and set new benchmarks for the expansion of the halal travel and tourism industry. The Halal Travel Frontier 2019 Report gives businesses, governments and other stakeholders in the travel sector an overview of the trends sweeping the fast-growing halal travel industry and how they can maximise opportunities in this fast growing travel sector,” said Safdar Khan, Division President, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, Mastercard.
The global Muslim traveller expenditure is projected to reach US$220 billion in 2020 according to the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2018. It is expected to grow a further US$80 billion to hit US$300 billion by 2026. In 2017, there were an estimated 131 million Muslim visitor arrivals globally - up from 121 million in 2016 - and this is forecast to grow to 156 million visitors by 2020, representing 10% of the global travel segment.
The top 17 trends to watch in 2019
1
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Heightened awareness on social causes while exploring destinations
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10
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Urge for “instant noodle trips”
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2
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AI will further empower Muslim travellers
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11
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Hotel sector will stop hitting halal snooze
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3
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Halal assurance will become smarter with AR
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12
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Rising female voice in trip planning
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4
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AR will reconnect Muslim travellers with lost Islamic heritage
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13
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Destinations to encounter multiple Muslim traveller identities with common shared values
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5
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Consolidation of Muslim travel space will result in emergence of stronger Muslim lifestyle / travel brands
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14
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Decline in Muslim visitors to destinations perceived as unwelcoming
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6
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Disruption of the traditional umrah market with DIY umrahs
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15
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Human resource development to take centre stage
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7
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Deeper training immersion with VR umrahs
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16
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Rise in demand for halal advisory
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8
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Convergence of travel behaviour around mobile
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17
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Preventing halal big data chaos
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9
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Growing non-OIC wave in the Muslim travel ocean
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Read the Halal Travel Frontier 2019 report
Read the Suroor Asia blog posts about the digital element in halal travel and on the Japan Muslim Travel Index 2017
Hashtag: #HTF2019