UAE a top favourite for Muslim travellers

[Duufaan]

UAE a top favourite for Muslim travellers

Rohma Sadaqat /dubai

Filed on April 25, 2018 | Last updated on April 25, 2018 at 07.44 am

 

Non-Muslim countries should increase their variety of halal food in hotels and list nearby mosques and halal restaurants.
(File photo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halal tourism has evolved from being a very niche segment to one of the fastest growing tourism segments.

 

The UAE remains a popular destination for Muslim travellers from around the world due to its wealth of diverse offerings across different emirates. However, industry stakeholders say that more can be done to attract a greater number of travellers from the booming segment in the coming years.

Experts at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2018) said that halal tourism has evolved from being a very niche segment to one of the fastest growing tourism segments across the world. This growth, they noted, is a result of the rapid increase in Muslim travellers, who wish to travel to new locations with their families for vacations.

"Halal tourism is seen as a sensible way of tourism," said Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of Shurooq. "Here in the UAE, we have not branded ourselves as a halal tourism destination, but we have been actively practising it since the 1980s. Sharjah positioned itself as a state with tourism venues, where travellers would be comfortable bringing their families. It has gone beyond what many people have in mind when they think of a halal destination."

"The opportunities in the halal segment today are magnificent," he added. "The number of travellers in this segment have been increasing year on year; and this presents us with an opportunity to promote ourselves even further as a halal tourism destination."

When it comes to destinations that are popular with Muslim travellers, online travel marketplace Wego's 'Mena Traveller Destination Leaderboards' disclosed that Egypt retained its first place ranking in the first quarter of 2018 as the most popular destination for travellers from across the Mena region; while Saudi Arabia retained its second place ranking. India firmly positioned itself in third position, followed by Turkey at number 4, while the UAE fell from the third position to fifth.

Despite the overall drop, experts at Wego note that Dubai remains a popular destination for Mena travellers. Bustling street markets, easy access to halal food, short flight durations and cultural familiarity are reasons why Turkey remains consistently popular as a destination with Mena travellers, the report found. Amman, Jordan, emerged as the biggest winner among Middle Eastern cities with a spike in visitors in 2018 possibly attributed to the launch of the new Jordan trail and other new tourism boosting initiatives.

"Owing to the recent rise in Muslim millennial travelers, leading global players seem to be jumping on to the lucrative halal tourism bandwagon," said Mamoun Hmedan, managing director at Wego Middle East and India.

"We have seen that in Europe, and Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, there has been a consistent focus on offering a variety of halal tourism options."

He added: "A recent study showed that total expenditure from Muslim millennial travellers alone could approximately surpass $100 billion by 2025. It would, therefore, be essential for travel brands to understand the psyche of this young, tech-savvy millennial, who is fond of exploring the globe, while still abiding by his/her religious convictions."

Similarly, Sociable Earth's recent survey on halal tourism found that hospitality vendors, especially those in non-Muslim countries, can do more to attract Muslim travellers. According to the survey, respondents said non-Muslim countries should increase their variety of halal food in hotels, list nearby mosques and halal restaurants, and offer private pool villas to attract more Muslim guests.

More than 78 per cent of respondents in the survey select their holiday destination as a family, with only 1.5 per cent leaving the decision solely to their children. Naming their number 1 priorities for a trip, access to halal food is the most important factor, scoring 39.5 per cent of the vote and proximity to mosques was also important, taking 32.8 per cent, while 22 per cent named family-friendly activities.

"These figures demonstrate a demand for family-focused, down-to-earth holidays, which offer value for money and essential home facilities. Across the Middle East, we see these preferences catered to in hotels of all star ratings. However, many international markets only have a small number of suitable properties. This presents many opportunities to develop bespoke accommodation and attractive options in line with local market needs," said Omar Ahmed, founder and CEO of Sociable Earth.

The survey also found that with almost 30 per cent of the vote, Dubai was the most aspirational holiday destination, followed by Turkey at 16 per cent, the Maldives at 12 per cent, Malaysia at 9 per cent and Mauritius at 6 per cent. Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the UK each polled 5.6 per cent, with the US at 5.5 per cent.

[Duufaan]

This is their statistics but their economy will rely on tourism and services as their oil reserves are becoming eroded. They do not have reason to mess with Somalia and other countries. The media writing is not good for them

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Waa runtaa, Duufaan. Most of it has to do with their world-famous airlines, specially Emirates, being a hub. You know we can ban them from our airspace when we re-start our air forces that are currently being trained in Turkiga.

[galbeedi]

This is mostly a propaganda and advertising for the most expensive place on earth-- Dubai. There are already huge multi billion dollar Halal  tourism in many Muslim countries like Malesia, Turkey and Indonesia. In Turkey there are Halal cruises and  other amenities that took off long ago. Who want to go 45 degree hell in the summer?. 

Also, they might claim Halal but everyone knows that Dubai is a place dominated by money laundering, prostitutes from eastern europe and other vices that must be avoided.

Despite the actions of their governments large number of the gulf businessmen are investing Turkish agriculture, real estate and other industries. One official said that the , " THe heart and mind of the gulf people are with Turkey"

The UAE is  destroying MUslims nations one by one through their money, but eventually they will lose. Their airlines are subsidized by the state, since it is owned by the rich sheiks and many countries like Canada had restricted their landing rights. Privately owned airlines can not compete with them,  but eventually they will lose more routes.

Furthermore, some us are willing to wage a campaign against Dubai and their filthy country. Muslims around the world must boycott this colonial outpost. If they continue to divide Somalia, we must take the war to them and spread the word. Somalis around the world could pass the boycott message and cripple their economy.

TRump already made billions from them yet,  he is not done. 

Yesterday he said, " without our protection, some gulf countries will disappear".

Everyone one is cashing from these fools, and as our friend gooni said, " Khaliijku ninkii ku staagana way u staagaan, ninkii ka liitana way ku joogsadaan".

Waar hoy danta good ee umadda ha leego.

 

[galbeedi]

 

 

The diplomatic crisis and conflicts in the Middle East and the Gulf did not affect Turkey's trade with the region last year, as business increased by 22.1 percent, reaching $56.4 billion

Despite the diplomatic crisis and conflicts in the Middle East and the Gulf, Turkey's trade with the region accelerated in 2017 compared to the previous year as its foreign trade with the region increased by 22.1 percent, reaching $56.4 billion last year.

While political instability in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, pursued its effect last year, the problems that have arisen have worsened the economic stability of many countries in the region and led to worsening public finance due to the increase in defense spending.

The fall in purchasing power due to economic difficulties caused trade and investments in these countries to decline compared to previous years.

Despite the hitches in the Middle East, Turkey's trade and economic relations with the countries in the region continued to develop.

According to the 2017 annual report of the Economy Ministry, Turkey's exports to the Middle East and Gulf countries last year increased by 13.6 percent compared to the previous year, reaching $32.7 billion, while imports from the region increased by 36.3 percent to $23.6 billion.

Turkey's foreign trade volume with the region last year was about $56.4 billion, rising by 22.1 percent compared to 2016.

Qatar came to the fore in Turkey's economic relations in the Gulf region last year. During the crisis, which started after the coalition headed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut all diplomatic relations with Qatar on June 5, 2017 and their decision to impose an economic embargo on the country, Turkey carried out a major logistics operation regarding Qatar. Turkey's exports to the country increased significantly, adding a new link to the emerging Turkish-Qatari economic relations.

The four Arab countries accused Doha of supporting terrorism. The Qatari government has denied the accusations, blasting the blockade as unjustified and a violation of international law.

In addition to diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis, Turkey has also sent food, including fruit, dairy and poultry products by ship and air, to help Qatar beat the embargo.

Turkey's exports to the country as of June, the start of the crisis, until December last year saw an increase of 92 percent compared to the same period of the previous year and reached $478 million.

Overall, Turkey's exports to the country rose by 48 percent to $650 million in 2017, while trade volume with the country stood at $1.3 billion. In this context, last year there was intense diplomacy in Turkey's economic and trade relations with Qatar.

Despite the diplomatic crises and conflicts, Turkish contractors maintained their investments in the Middle East and Gulf countries.

Turkish contractors have undertaken projects in the Middle East and Gulf countries worth $7.1 billion in 2014, $6.5 billion in 2015 and $6.6 billion in 2016.

While the number of projects conducted by the Turkish contractors in the region stood at 56 last year, the total amount of the projects in question was recorded as $5.2 billion.

In the ministry's report, it was noted that oil prices, which showed an increase last year, are expected to follow a horizontal course this year, and thus, it is anticipated that Turkey's trade volume with oil-exporting countries in the region will increase.

According to the report, the growth in the economies of oil exporting countries is predicted to increase if the increase in the price of oil continues.

With the rebound in oil prices in Middle Eastern countries, which hold 47.7 percent of the world's oil reserves, Turkey's trade volume with the Middle East and Gulf countries is expected to increase.

Turkey's exports in 2017 amounted to over $157.05 billion, marking a 10.2 percent rise compared with the previous year, according to the national statistical body. The country's foreign trade volume reached $390.84 billion in 2017, marking a 14.56 percent annual increase, according to provisional data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Customs and Trade Ministry. Meanwhile, Turkish imports climbed 17.7 percent to $233.79 billion.