Halal travel glossary launched

Manama

CrescentRating, a global authority on Halal travel, has released a new glossary providing access to a wealth of terminology used in one of the fastest growing sectors globally.

The new guide promotes accurate and consistent use of terms in the Halal travel market. Over 150 terms and concepts have been entered and validated with regular updates planned as the market matures.

Users can obtain a quick list of terms through the glossary, which has been divided into sections for easy navigation. It has been published as a free downloadable e-book with plans to make it an online resource in the near future.

With halal travel now worth billions annually, the need to understand these terms is becoming more important as the industry aims to capitalise on a sector projected to be worth $200 billion by 2020.

CrescentRating says understanding these terms is imperative for all travel-related businesses looking to benefit from the growth of this market such as tourism boards, Government agencies, hotels, restaurants, attractions, airports, airlines, cruises and spas.

Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating, said: “Embracing the Halal travel phenomenon is now a key focus of growth across the industry for both OIC and non-OIC destinations.”

“With an increasing number of destinations and services looking to attract Muslim travellers, there is a need to better understand the terms used to describe the market needs and practices related to this segment.”

The glossary includes terms that provide an overview of Halal travel and its core values. Each of these has been defined in the context of lifestyle and travel.

 This e-book also covers faith-related terms used to describe the needs and practices of Muslim travellers. The first edition of the glossary is now available in English with plans to publish it in other languages in the future.

The MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2015, which is the most comprehensive research that has been released on the sector, revealed that in 2014, the Muslim travel market was worth $145 billion with 108 million Muslim travellers representing 10 per cent of the entire travel economy.

This is forecasted to grow to 150 million visitors by 2020 and 11pc of the market segment with a market value projected to grow to $200 billion.