Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
39
Chapter 2: Current Situation of the Member Countries in MFT
2.1 Muslim Visitor Arrivals and Expenditure Review
The travel sector represented by Muslim travelers was worth $121 billion in 2014 and the
total number of Muslim visitor arrivals amounted to 116 million - representing 10.2 percent of
the global visitor arrivals. It is projected that the number of Muslim visitors will grow to 180
million by 2020 and Muslim tourism sector will constitute 11.4 percent of the market with an
expenditure projected to be $212 billion. Table 4 shows the Muslim visitor arrivals and
expenditure for the years 2000 and 2014, and the forecast for 2020.
Table 4: Muslim Visitor Arrivals (2010 – 2020)
Year
2010
Year
2014
Year
2020E
Growth
Forecast
2015-2020
(Percentage)
Total Muslim Visitor Arrivals (millions)
98 116 180 54.5
From OIC to OIC (millions)
42 51 79 54.1
From non-OIC to OIC (millions) 11 13 19 42.9
Total Muslim Visitor Arrivals to OIC
(millions) 53 64 98 51.8
% of Muslim visitors to OIC 53.9% 55.3% 54.3%
From OIC to Non-OIC (millions)
21 22 40 76.3
From non-OIC to non-OIC (millions)
24 30 42 43.6
Total Muslim Visitor Arrivals to non-OIC
(millions) 45 52 82 57.7
% of Muslim visitors to non-OIC 46.1% 44.7% 45.7%
Total Visitor Arrivals to OIC (millions) 169 190 249 31.1
% of Muslim arrivals 31.1% 33.8% 39.1%
Source: CrescentRating, 2015
Total tourist arrivals are expected to increase in the OIC countries. By the year 2020 Muslim
visitor arrivals would be 98 million into the OIC member states which would be a growth rate
of 51.8 percent over the forecast period. Although most of the arrivals would be from OIC
member states, travel by Muslim from non-OIC member states would have grown by 42.95
percent over the forecast period. This is an opportunity, which the OIC member states could
explore.