Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, halal tourism was booming. According to the latest Crescentrating report, nearly 160 million Muslim tourists traveled in 2019, compared to 42 million travelers in 2020.
In total, more than 90% of these 42 million people traveled in the first quarter of the year before many countries decided to close their borders.
The report predicts that by 2023, halal tourism will cover 80% of shipments registered in 2019 before the health crisis. The pandemic has caused great damage to the travel industry. However, tourism is a sustainable sector, and we are all looking forward to the gradual opening of international borders for travel.
Experts emphasize that 2021 began with positive news about the development and approval of vaccines by different countries.
Global vaccination efforts are still needed to accelerate tourism recovery at a time when new Covid-19 variants are thriving in many countries. Other important factors in the resumption of tourism include the emergence of new travel experiences by 2023 and the proliferation of travel bubbles.
The data further states that Malaysia has remained a favorite destination for Muslim tourists since 2019, followed by Turkey (2nd place) and Saudi Arabia (3rd place). Among the non-members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIB), Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom are in the top 20.