Northstar

6 | www.travelweekly-asia.com COVER STORY Muslim Travel GENTING DREAM: 5 NIGHTS SURABAYA – NORTH BALI SAILING DATES: July 25 and August 25, 2019 WORLD DREAM: 5 NIGHTS NAHA – MIYAKOJIMA SAILING DATES: Selected sailings from now till November 10, 2019 D R E A M I T I N E R A R I E S TO FIND OUT MORE, VISIT: DREAMCRUISELINE.COM DAY DESTINATION (Port) Sunday Singapore Monday Cruising Day Tuesday Surabaya Wednesday North Bali (Celukan Bawang) Thursday Cruising Day Friday Singapore DAY DESTINATION (Port) Sunday Hong Kong | Nansha, Guangzhou Monday Cruising Day Tuesday Naha Wednesday Miyakojima Thursday Cruising Day Friday Nansha, Guangzhou | Hong Kong In the last year alone, Muslim travellers made up 10% of the world's tourists – that's a staggering 140 million travellers. By next year, it is estimated that the segment will spend US$220 billion, with more than half, or 56%, expected to be spent in Asia, according to a recent joint study by Mastercard and CrescentRating, a research group that tracks halal-friendly travel. In recent years, non-Islamic destinations in the region have catapulted into action to capture a large share of this lucrative segment. And with almost half of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims residing in Asia, it's unsurprising that destinations in the region are wising up to the immediate and immense opportunity on their doorstep. "More and more destinations are looking to capture the market, where there's great potential and high yield. The prove point for most destinations was seeing how non-Muslim majority countries like Japan, Taiwan and Singapore were successful in capturing the Muslim market," said Datuk Hamzah Rahmat, honorary member of the Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations (FATA). Already, destinations like Singapore and Thailand are moderate to mature markets for the tide of arrivals from neighbours Indonesia and Malaysia -- countries with mainly Muslim populations. Last year, nearly a quarter of Singapore's 18.5 million arrivals, or 4.27 million, were from the two countries, according to May figures published by Singapore Tourism Board. Thailand likewise managed to pull in 4.09 million from Malaysia alone, against its total number of 38.2 million visitors, reported Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports in January. They may be non-Islamic countries but Asian destinations soon expect to tap more than half of the US$220 billion market. By Naomi Neoh Singapore is a popular destination for Muslim travellers. Pictured is the Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam. PHOTO CREDIT: MONGKOLCHUEWONG/GETTY IMAGES Asian Destinations Woo Growing Number Of Muslim Tourists

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