Despite being a country with a strong Islamic heritage, the Maldives' growth as a destination of sun, sand and the occasional alcoholic beverage highlights the more internationally focused-nature of the nation's secluded luxury resorts.

However, in trying to cater for an increasingly diverse number of tourist needs and demands, one Islamic travel expert believes the Maldives can widen its niche market appeal by becoming a "halal friendly" destination, without losing out on its established core-markets.

Read the full article here

Fazal from Crescentrating did a live interview on Halal Friendly Travel on Radio Australia's Connect Asia program on the 27th August 2010. The Connect Asia brings you an hour of news, business reports and analysis from commentators and correspondents. It is hosted by Mr Sen Lam.

You can listen to the Interview with Fazal at the link below. Choose the Program "Connect Asia" and then the "Connect Asia - Program Part 2, 27/08/2010".

The interview starts around 9 minutes in to the program and lasts for about five minutes.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/flash/listen/podcasts.htm

You can also listen to the Interview here

Ketika masih menjabat eksekutif perusahaan telekomunikasi, Fazal Bahardeen harus sering keluar kota. Dalam perjalanan itu, ia tidak pernah lupa membawa makanan siap santap. Banyak hotel yang ditinggalinya tidak memiliki restoran bersertifikasi halal bagi wisatawan muslim, seperti dirinya.

Read the full article here (in Bahasa Indonesia)

A recent interview Agence France Presse (AFP) had with Crescentrating was released by AFP yesterday and has been widely covered in the media; both online as well as on print. The main title carried by most articles is "After Islamic food and banking: halal travel".

AFP Interview with Crescentrating

You can find some of the online media coverage below:

Khaleej Times HurriyetChannel News AsiaHindustan TimesDawn (Pakistan)Qatar TribuneZawyaToday, (Singapore)France24MySinChewOman ObserverIttefaq (Bangladesh)Emirates 24/7MSN NewsThe Jakarta GlobeYahoo NewsGoogle Hosted News

Brunei TimesNew Sabah TimesSaigon gpDaily Business Maktoob

Arab Times OnlineThe Peninsular Qatar

The Independent (UK)

Al ArabiyaThe Daily Star (Bangladesh)Saudi GazetteHamariweb (Urdu)The Halal JournalHalalFocus

iafrica Taipei TimesMacau Daily Timesttrweekly

"Crescentrating, site beaucoup plus abouti, n'a guère suscité l'attention des uns et des autres. Jusqu'à ce mois de juin 2010 où le site a été récompensé lors du prestigieux World Halal Forum dans la catégorie « Travel & Hospitality 2010″ (voyage et hospitalité)"

Read more at alkanz.com

"Crescentrating, a Singapore-based company, has made traveling for Muslims a little more Shari'a compliant by providing them with a gateway to Halal-friendly travel.

Halal Focus, a website run by Imarat Consultants, estimates that Muslims represent about a quarter of the world's population and 10% of the global travel marketshare. With 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, Halal goods and services will only continue to increase in demand, as already evidenced by the growth in Halal food products and Islamic banking"

Read more at newzglobe.com

22 Jun 2010

Crescentrating was featured on the 22nd June, 8 pm news on Singapore's main Malay TV channel Suria. The news is covered in Malay and English.

22 Jun 2010

EKONIAGA

Syarikat Islam setempat menang anugerah Halal antarabangsa

Rancang tambah khidmat & produk untuk pelancong Muslim

Oleh
Rosebi Mohd Sah

SYARIKAT setempat, Crescentrating Pte Ltd, yang merupakan satu-satunya syarikat dot.com yang menawarkan khidmat penilaian hotel mesra halal/Islam di seluruh dunia, menerima anugerah Jurnal Halal bagi Pelancongan dan Pelayanan 2010, semalam.

Syarikat itu mendapat anugerah tersebut kerana menjadi perintis bagi usaha-usaha memudahkan pelancongan sejagat bagi urusan perkhidmatan halal.

Read the full article here

June 13th, 2010 by Monika Grzesik

Crescentrating is a new system which rates hotels and travel services on their 'halal-friendliness'.

Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of new travel company Crescentrating.com talks about his ‘halal-friendly’ rating system designed for Muslim travellers.

"Halal Help : New Rating System Targets Islamic Tourism"

Read more (Page 15 of Travel Trade Weekly Issue 26)

Travel Trade Weekly  is a leading news provider for travel industry professionals in the Middle East and North Africa, delivered every Saturday electronically and monthly as a hard copy.