For the the fifth year in a row, Malaysia was ranked the best destination in the world for Muslim travellers. Malaysia has consistently ranked high in all criteria and factors and remains a fantastic holiday destination with an excellent Muslim-friendly environment. Read on for a detailed analysis of how Malaysia performed on the Index.
Malaysia is one of the world's most popular travel destinations and is frequently amongst the most visited destinations in the world. The multicultural country is home to a population of over 30 million and is growing at an estimated rate of 1.6%. Islam is the predominant religion of the country and Muslims make up over 61% of Malaysia's total population.
Malaysia recorded over 23 million tourist arrivals in 2014, featuring a growth rate of 6.7% in comparison to the previous year. In October alone, it received 2.2 million travellers – making it the top player in the South Asian region. Muslim travellers in particular comprised a large percentage of the tourist arrival figures. Over 5 million Muslim travellers visited Malaysia in 2014, accounting for 22% of all tourist arrivals to Malaysia.
Due to the country's Muslim-majority population and large Muslim traveller arrival figures, facilities for Muslims are available in abundance throughout the country. Malaysia scored significantly better than other countries on the Index, earning itself the top spot as the best Muslim-friendly destination in the world for the year 2015.
Malaysia was awarded a GMTI score of 83.8 by CrescentRating. A breakdown of its score for various criteria and determining factors has been listed below:
| CATEGORY | MALAYSIA'S SCORE | AVERAGE SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Suitability as a holiday destination | 63.3 | 49.4 |
| Safe travel environment | 100 | 88.5 |
| Visitor arrivals | 58.5 | 12.4 |
| Halal food | 90 | 42.5 |
| Prayer facilities | 100 | 45.9 |
| Airport facilities | 100 | 38.2 |
| Accommodation options | 60 | 30.8 |
| Ease of communication | 71.8 | 40 |
| Muslim traveller needs awareness | 88 | 23.7 |
Malaysia scored significantly higher than the overall average score of the other countries in every category on the index. It also received a perfect score of 100 for three categories – Safe Travel Environment, Prayer Facilities and Airport Facilities. Other high scoring categories included the availability of Halal food and the awareness of the needs of Muslim travellers.
A more detailed breakdown of the score and rankings is available on: http://gmti.crescentrating.com/mastercard-crescentrating-global-muslim-travel-index-2015-gmti2015.html
