Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
42
Table 7: OIC Arab Group Visitor Arrivals (Inbound Tourist) of top 5 Countries, 2014
S/N Country Name Total Visitor
Arrivals ( Millions)
Muslim Visitor
Arrivals (Millions)
Percentage of
Muslim Visitor
Arrivals
1 United Arab Emirates 13.20 6.52 49.4%
2 Saudi Arabia 13.18 11.23 85.2%
3 Morocco 10.45 0.76 7.3%
4 Bahrain 9.27 5.86 63.2%
5 Egypt, Arab Rep. 8.82 1.92 21.8%
Source: CrescentRating, 2015
The Muslim visitor growth will be faster than the total visitor arrivals. In 2014, total tourist
arrivals into the Arab group were 82.22 million and by 2020 this would have grown to 96.83
million, which translates into an average yearly growth rate of only 1.2 percent. Hence most of
the travel to the Arab group will be from OIC member states. The percentage of Muslim tourist
visitors in 2014 was 39.4 percent of total arrivals, and this would increase to 82.5 percent.
Hotels and other attractions are focused towards catering to the needs of the Muslim traveler.
Shopping is a major activity of the Muslim tourists, especially amongst the Arabs.
b) Asian Group
The Asian group is expected to witness strong tourist arrivals over the forecast period. In 2014
the leading country with tourist arrivals was Turkey followed by Malaysia and Indonesia.
Table 8 shows the OIC Asian Group visitor arrivals to the top 5 countries in 2014.
Table 8: OIC Asian Group Visitor Arrivals (Inbound Tourist) of top 5 Countries, 2014
S/N
Country
Name
Total Visitor Arrivals
(Inbound Tourist)
Millions
Muslim Visitor
Arrivals (Inbound
Tourist) Millions
Percentage of
Muslim Visitor
Arrivals
1 Turkey 39.28 7.12 18.1%
2 Malaysia 26.43 5.27 19.9%
3 Indonesia 9.33 1.16 12.4%
4 Iran 5.48 4.13 75.4%
5 Kazakhstan 5.29 4.26 80.5%
Source: CrescentRating, 2015
Muslim visitor arrivals to the Asian group are expected to witness a strong increase in the next
five years to reach 44.59 million by 2020. Arab tourists and intra-Asian travel amongst the
Muslims would be the largest representation of inbound tourism. In 2014, the Muslim tourist
arrivals were 25.16 million. This translates into a growth rate of 15.3 percent. Travel to Asia is
popular amongst the Muslim tourist. The destination is affordable and provides high value for
money as compared to other places around the world.
In 2014 total tourist arrivals into the Asian group was 100.25 million, and by 2020 this would
have grown to 140.49 million, which translates into an average yearly growth rate of only 5.9
percent. Hence most of the travel to the Asian group would comprise of Muslims from either
Middle East or within Asia. The percentage of Muslim tourist visitors in 2014 was 24.5 percent
of total arrivals, and this would increase to 41.5 percent.