Malaysia needs strategies to capture recovering Muslim travel market demand

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia needs to put in place strategies and actions to meet the demand for Muslim-friendly products and services, as the Muslim travel market is projected to recover by up to 80 per cent of the pre-pandemic level in 2023.

Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) chairman Datuk Dr Noor Zari Hamat said the Muslim tourist market would continue to flourish beyond COVID-19 due to the overall pent-up demand for travel as Muslim tourists travel for business, wellness, leisure, luxury, sports and recreation purposes.

"Muslim tourists travel for the same reasons as everyone. Their needs in each instance may be different but this provides tremendous business opportunities for the entire tourism supply chain.

"This opens up opportunities for tourism destinations and businesses in the Halal economy," said Noor Zari, who is also the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) secretary-general.

Speaking at the virtual Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality Forum today, he said Malaysia's Muslim tourist arrivals stood at 5.33 million in 2019, contributing RM16.72 billion towards the country's economy.

During the same year, tourist arrivals from Indonesia alone surpassed more than two million, contributing tourist receipts of about RM7.3 billion, he said.

In terms of the average length of stay, tourists from Saudi Arabia stayed an average of 10.8 days, Kuwait (10.2 days) and United Arab Emirates (9.7 days), with per capita spending of RM11,660, RM9,080 and RM10,095, respectively.

"Tourists from the Middle East region are known for travelling in large groups, sometimes with extended families, and staying far longer than other tourists on average," he added.

The ITC is an entity under MOTAC tasked to develop the Islamic tourism segment for Malaysia, advocating for Muslim-friendly tourism by offering research and market intelligence, training, industry development consultation, Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality services standards and certification as well as information exchange.

-- BERNAMA