CrescentRating has been releasing annual rankings of Muslim-friendly holiday destinations over the past four years. These rankings have now been enhanced to become a global index - the MasterCard-Crescentrating Global Muslim Travel Index - which will see its very first release on the 4th of March, 2015 - just one week away!

With the unveiling of GMTI 2015 just days away, here's a look back at how CrescentRating's releases of the best Muslim-friendly destination rankings have evolved over the years.

CrescentRating's first ever Halal travel market research publication was released in 2011. It featured a list of the top 10 Muslim-friendly holiday destinations to help travellers better understand the services offered by holiday destinations and to access other important travel information.

The next release - published in 2012 - was enhanced to include further information and travel data. The rankings were conducted separately for Muslim countries and non-Muslim countries and therefore, two reports were released - "Top 10 Muslim Friendly OIC Holiday destinations” and “Top 10 Muslim Friendly non-OIC Holiday destinations”.

The Index expanded further in 2013 to cover a total of 50 destinations. Each destination was given a Muslim-friendly score out of 10 - for both OIC and non-OIC destinations.

In 2014, 10 more destinations were added and 60 destinations were covered. The destinations were again rated on a scale of 1 to 10 based on the level of how Halal-friendly the destination is for Muslim travellers.

The Index for 2015 brings together MasterCard's expert knowledge of shopping and travel sectors across the globe and CrescentRating’s in-depth Muslim travel insights on destinations and travel services - making it the most enhanced and comprehensive research publication to be released.

GMTI 2015 will be released on the 4th of March 2015, with a new and updated list of the best  Muslim-friendly holiday destinations for Muslim travellers. Stay tuned!