Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT):
Understanding the Supply and Demand Sides
In the OIC Member Countries
83
3.4. United Arab Emirates
UAE is one of the fastest growing destinations for Muslim visitors. The continuous investment
by UAE, especially by Dubai and Abu Dhabi has made it an attracting destination for Muslim for
both enjoying the attractions as well as shopping. Dubai positioning itself as the “Islamic
economic capital of the world” and family travel which includes MFT is one of the key verticals
within the initiative. Abu Dhabi is also positioning to be the “halal Travel” destination of choice.
Dubai has emerged as an important tourist destination in the global tourism map. The region
has become an epicenter of attraction for business people, tourists and shoppers.
Muslim visitor arrivals have reported a good growth over the past five years. Table 25 shows
inbound tourism data from 2010 to 2014 and the projections for 2020.
Table 25: Muslim visitor arrivals to United Arab Emirates for the period 2010 to 2020
UAE Year (Inbound Tourism) 2010 2014 2020
UAE Inbound Muslim Visitor Arrivals (Millions) 3.63 6.52 13.13
UAE Inbound Expenditure by Muslim Visitor (US$ Millions) 3,757 7,734 12,947
Source: CrescentRating, 2015
UAE is expected to witness the fastest growth in inbound Muslim visitor arrivals over the
forecast period, at 13.4 percent as compared to the other six country case study research. In
2020 the total inbound tourist arrivals will be 13.13 million to the UAE. This translates into
61.2 percent of all arrivals into the country to be Muslim tourist. Visitors into UAE come
principally from Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia, Europe (25 percent) and Asian
countries (20 percent). Dubai and Abu Dhabi were the two leading destinations in terms of
tourist arrivals into the UAE.
The main factors for tourism growth were government initiatives and continuous efforts to
promote country’s travel and tourism on both the domestic and international levels. It is
expected that the travel and tourism sector will continue to grow over the forecast period
(2015–2020) supported by government’s significant efforts to promote tourism, develop
tourism infrastructure, and participate in international events and promotional campaigns in
key source countries in particular GCC nations. Emirates operating out of Dubai is also a major
contributor to the visitor growth to UAE.
Faith-based needs of Muslim Traveler
a) Halal Food
Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology mentions – “Issued by the 19 Council of
Ministers Resolution No.10 of the national legislative system for Halal products in January 2014;
the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology has now introduced a special 'Emirati
system' for the control of Halal products. This system comprises of basic elements pertaining to
Halal products, destination certificates and accreditation bodies such as the Halal certification
mark that constitutes the optimal model to ensure the sequence of processing, and obtaining
Halal products.”