The 2026 Global Muslim Travel Index Edition: Showcasing the Blueprints of Global Mobility

Now entering its 12th year of structural collaboration between Mastercard and CrescentRating, the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2026 operates as the definitive global standard for Halal travel intelligence. Utilized heavily by governments, tourism boards, and global hospitality networks, the index evaluates 150 destinations representing more than 98% of all global Muslim international arrivals.

What’s New in the 2026 Edition?

The 2026 report marks a critical structural milestone, demonstrating that what was once a specialized niche segment has completely matured into a mainstream economic powerhouse. This year’s release introduces a major shift from tracking static, physical availability to measuring live algorithmic visibility and technological trust automation:

The Shift to Agentic Travel

Over 80% of modern travelers now actively use AI tools for travel purposes. Modern consumers are moving away from traditional manual web search and are instead delegating end-to-end trip filtering, dining discovery, and accommodation validation to intelligent AI agents.

The AI Recommendation Readiness Auditor (AIRA)

To bridge the gap between physical assets and automated AI discovery, the 2026 index incorporates the AIRA framework. This proprietary tool reviews destination websites across 20 algorithmic checkpoints to ensure faith-based services are machine-readable and crawlable by next-generation AI planners.

The Destination Activation Stack

This advanced framework unifies the quantitative groundwork of the ACES (Access, Communication, Environment, Services) infrastructure envelope with the qualitative lifestyle filters of the RIDA experience matrix (Responsible, Immersive, Digital, Assured) and the transactional validation of the TRUST (Transparency, Relevant Products, Unwavering Quality, Social Connection, and Thoughtful Rewards) catalyst.

The Travel Ecosystem Stress-Test Matrix

Recognizing real-world macroeconomic pressures — such as oil prices fluctuating above a $100 baseline and airspace friction — this edition builds in a flexible model for crisis scenario planning to help destinations manage fluid, volatile travel corridors.

Key Takeaways & Global Leaderboard Realignment

• The Global Benchmark: Malaysia continues to command the absolute #1 ranking worldwide, climbing to a score of 83.
• The Historic Surge: Indonesia emerged as one of the single strongest performers this year, surging 3 points to a score of 79 and climbing into a joint second-place standing with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
• The Non-OIC Leaders: Singapore retains its unbroken decade-long lock at #1 among non-OIC destinations (scoring 73). Hong Kong successfully scaled its competitive posture to claim the #2 spot (score 64) due to dedicated government-led faith accreditation, while Taiwan and the United Kingdom converge closely behind to jointly hold the #3 position (score 59).
• The Standout Momentum: The Philippines registered the single highest index momentum shift across the entire non-OIC leaderboard with a +5 score surge, driven by an aggressive commitment to expanding local Halal infrastructure early in the planning cycle.

Mapping the Market: The Muslim Demographic Corridors

The global Muslim travel market continues to expand past standard linear forecasts, demonstrating phenomenal resilience. In 2025, international arrivals reached 196 million — marking an 11.3% year-on-year surge. Current projections estimate arrivals will reach 208 million by the end of 2026, scaling rapidly to 262 million arrivals and an annual expenditure of USD 310 billion by 2030.

To capture this economic prize, destinations must understand several highly influential market behaviors:

The Demographic Juggernaut

The global Muslim population is scaling to 2.57 billion by 2036, encompassing nearly 29% of humanity. Driven by a highly connected median age of 25–27, approximately 70% of this population is under the age of 40. These digital natives demand mobile-first, frictionless payment networks and algorithm-ready environments.

The Structural De-Concentration

Historically, the top 30 outbound source markets held a close to 90% monopoly on travel share. The 2026 index reveals that these top 30 now account for only 77%, signaling that travel demand is diversifying heavily into emerging economies and diaspora communities across Europe and East Asia.

The Proximity Pivot

Geopolitical instability and escalating long-haul fuel costs have driven a massive strategic shift toward “home-continent” mobility. International travelers are choosing shorter travel distances to guarantee predictability. Consequently, South-Eastern Asia has re-aligned to claim the top operational spot for inbound stability over Western Asia.

High-Yield Audience De-Averaging

The Muslim Women in Travel (MWIT) segment has surged to 90 million strong, commanding 48% of all global arrivals and holding disproportionate family decision-making leverage. Simultaneously, younger demographics are driving an explosion in Sports Tourism, creating a sports-event travel segment projected to reach USD 21 billion by 2030.

The Foundational DNA: The ACES Framework Explained

Established by CrescentRating in 2017, the ACES framework acts as the foundational baseline data architecture of the GMTI. It measures and weighs destination preparedness using over 60 comprehensive datasets across four non-negotiable core pillars:

Access

Tracks how easily and smoothly a tourist can enter and navigate a destination from the top 30 outbound engines.

• Connectivity: Evaluates direct flight routes, air frequencies, and geographic proximity, alongside regional cross-border land links. The UAE, Qatar, and Oman drive the highest performance marks in global and regional connectivity.
• Visa Requirements: Examines processing efficiency and digital visa simplification. Saudi Arabia leads significant advancements here by integrating Umrah permissions directly into tourist eVisas.
• Transport Infrastructure: Measures internal mobility, high-speed rail systems, and terminal quality. Traditional non-OIC hubs like Singapore, Macao, Hong Kong, and Japan continue to dominate this segment.

Communication

Measures how successfully a destination speaks to, welcomes, and guides faith-conscious travelers.

• Communication Proficiency: Assesses language availability across the top ten languages spoken by Muslim populations, with specific emphasis on English and Arabic human and automated support layers.
• Destination Marketing: Evaluates the presence of dedicated digital portals, tailored guides, and social media campaigns. Culturally responsive campaigns like Hong Kong’s “Jelajah Hong Kong” and New York City’s specialized World Cup Halal Travel Guide highlight this sector.
• Stakeholder Awareness: Monitors mandatory Halal certification, educational industry training, and awareness levels among local businesses. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Türkiye function as the core global benchmarks for local business alignment.

Environment

Evaluates the physical safety, social inclusivity, and general underlying conditions of the destination.

• General Safety: Tracks local crime indexes and successful active measures taken to combat Islamophobia and hate speech. Reflecting positive global progress, with the global average safety score improved beautifully from 75 to 79 this year.
• Faith Restrictions: Rigorously maps the freedom of religious expression, confirming the complete absence of bans or public restrictions surrounding the hijab, niqab, or ritual slaughter.
• Sustainability & Utilities: Evaluates clean water accessibility, internet reliability, carbon emissions management, and local heritage preservation. These elements align with the ethical core of conscious travel.
• Accessibility: Measures how well public facility networks and universal design elements support physically or cognitively challenged travelers, a pillar that rose to a 61 global average this year.

Services

The highest-weighted pillar, analyzing the range, availability, and execution quality of core faith-based necessities on the ground.

• Halal Dining: The single most critical, non-negotiable trust filter for Muslim travelers. Non-OIC destinations recorded an immense structural jump in dining inclusivity, with their average Halal dining score skyrocketing from 49 last year to 63 in 2026.
• Prayer Places: Assesses on-site access to mosques, transit prayer rooms, and cleanly structured ablution (wudu) areas. Non-OIC gateways like Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal excel here by embedding full Qibla directions, water-friendly washrooms, and prayer rugs directly into transit zones.
• Muslim-Friendly Accommodations & Airports: Reviews hotel chains providing room amenities (Qibla indicators, prayer mats) and airports anchoring a low-friction welcome experience right from the runway.
• Heritage Experiences: Measures the depth of cultural landmarks, Islamic history networks, and meaningful spiritual paths that offer an impactful sense of purpose.

Future-Proof Your Strategy: Download the Full Report

As the global travel matrix adapts to macro shifts and digital delegation, destinations can no longer rely on unverified claims or simple checkbox amenities. True market share belongs exclusively to the operators who structure their data architecture for AI crawlers while providing uncompromised safety and universal design on the ground.

Step into the era of algorithmic visibility and discover more insights now with the full Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2026 Report, free to download here.