European and Asian countries wooing Muslim tourists with prayer facilities and halal food

As economies around the world sputter and stagnate, the tourism industry has found an eager and underdeveloped market in the Muslim community, which is expected to spend US$140 billion on international travel this year, according to CrescentRating, a Muslim travel industry consultancy.

Until a couple of years ago, Muslim travellers around the world largely spent their travel dollars on other Muslim destinations such as Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. Now, as the tourism industry becomes more aware of what Muslim travellers need – catering predominantly to the need for halal food and access to prayer facilities – Muslims are venturing farther into Europe and Asia.

Favorite destinations include France, Italy, South Korea and Japan. Due to stable or growing economies and large populations in Muslim countries, Muslim travel expenditure is projected to rise to US$200 billion by 2020.