Indonesia Ranks First in the 2019 World’s Halal Tourism
Indonesia (with Malaysia) ranked first in the 2019 world’s halal tourist destination according to Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI).
The statement of this success was delivered by the CEO of CrescentRating and halaltrip.com, Fazal Bahardeen, at the Pullman Hotel Jakarta, Tuesday (9/4), which was attended by Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya and Ministry of Tourism deputies.
“After joining GMTI, this year, we should be proud because Indonesia was finally able to rank first in the world’s halal tourism, along with Malaysia, with a total score of 78,” Fazal said.
In addition to Indonesia and Malaysia, the rank of the world’s halal tourism GMTI version was won by Turkey (score 75), Saudi Arabia (score 72), and the United Arab Emirates (score 71). Other top 10 countries were Qatar (score 68), Morocco (score 67), Bahrain (score 66), Oman (score 66), and Brunei Darussalam (score 65).
During the occasion, the Minister expressed his gratitude towards all parties of the Halal Tourism Development Acceleration Team for the achievement. He also mentioned that the achievement should push ahead other tourist destinations in Indonesia to immediately develop halal tourism in their respective regions. He added that halal tourism development is one of the Ministry priority programs that was started five years ago.
The 2019 GMTI data shows that until 2030, the number of Muslim tourists is projected to reach 230 million worldwide.
In addition, the growth of 2018 Indonesia’s halal tourism market reached 18%. In details, the number of foreign Muslim tourists visiting Indonesian priority halal tourist destinations reached 2.8 million, with the foreign exchange of more than Rp 40 trillion.
In accordance with the 20 million foreign tourist arrivals target in 2019, the Ministry of Tourism targeted 25% or the equivalent of 5 million of the 20 million foreign tourists visiting are Muslim tourists.
Following the opportunity, in 2018, the Ministry developed 10 National Priority Halal Destinations of GMTI standards, including Aceh, Riau and Riau Islands, West Sumatra, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java (Malang Raya), Lombok, and South Sulawesi (Makassar and its surroundings).
“This year, we increase the participation of 6 Regencies and Cities in the area of 10 National Priority Halal Destinations to strengthen the halal tourism destinations, namely Tanjung Pinang City, Pekanbaru City, Bandung City, Bandung Regency, West Bandung Regency, and Cianjur Regency,” the Minister said.
CrescentRating-Mastercard also announced that the 2019 top 5 Indonesian priority halal tourist destinations were won by Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara) with a score of 70, Aceh with a score of 66, Riau and Riau Islands with a score of 63, Jakarta with a score of 59, and West Sumatra with a score of 59.
The awarding of five priority halal tourist destinations and 11 other halal tourist destinations was held last week by the Ministry at Bidakara Hotel, Tuesday (9/4), and was attended by representatives from each Province/City/Regency of the halal tourist destinations. (Ministry of Tourism Public Communication Bureau)
Translated by : Fairuzzamani Inayatillah
Edited by : Mia M. Bonaedy
