Turkey ranks 3rd 'halal tourist' destination: Report

By Riyaz ul Khaliq </p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkey was ranked the world's third best tourist destination conforming to Islamic guidelines (known as halal) in 2019 by the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) released earlier this week. </p> <p>Singapore-based Mastercard-Crescent rating agency said in its latest report that Indonesia along with Malaysia claimed the top spot on the index, both with a score of 78. </p> <p>Turkey rose to 75 points from 69.1 in 2018, stepping up one rank.</p> <p>Crescent Rating CEO Fazal Bahardeen released the report in Jakarta saying Indonesia was striving &quot;most aggressively&quot; to develop its halal tourism sector.</p> <p>Turkey came in second after Saudi Arabia as an &quot;inbound&quot; halal destination among members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).</p> <p>&quot;The top ten [OIC countries] destinations account for 22% of the Muslim inbound travel. These ten destinations account for 36% of the total Muslim inbound market,&quot; said Bahardeen, adding that many countries adopted GMTI standards to improve their standings as global tourist destinations</p> <p>The report underlined that Halal tourism's contribution to the global economy is projected to jump 35 percent to $300 billion in 2020 from $220 billion in 2016, and that the sector was based on four main criteria including access, communication, environment and services. </p> <p>&quot;This report aims to set the stage for the next phase of development of the Muslim Travel Market; 'Halal Travel 2.0',&quot; said Bahardeen. </p> <p>To help all stakeholders form plans to grow the market, he noted five &quot;Halal Travel Development Goals&quot;, including integration, diversity and faith; heritage, culture and connection; education, insights and capabilities; industry, innovation and trade; and well-being and sustainable tourism.