Oman came seventh in the GMTI 2015 behind Malaysia, Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Indonesia.
In 2014, Oman welcomed 670,000 Muslim visitors and was one of five destinations from the Middle East in the top 10.
Singapore topped the list for non-OIC countries which also included Thailand, UK, South Africa and France.
In 2014, there were 108 million Muslim travellers spending $145 billion. This is expected to grow to 150 million travellers in 2020 spending $200 billion.
Oman- March 4th, 2015: Oman has today been named seventh in the Global Muslim Travel Index, the most comprehensive research that has been released on the sector.
The "MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2015" saw Oman come seventh on the list behind Indonesia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey and Malaysia who took the top spot for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) destinations. It was one of five destinations in the top 10 from the Middle East region.
Singapore came first for the non-OIC destinations, which also saw Thailand, UK, South Africa and France make the top five.
The GMTI looks at in-depth data covering 100 destinations, creating an overall index, based on a number of criteria. This is the first time such thorough insights have been provided into one of the fastest-growing tourism sectors in the world today.
It will provide travellers, Governments, travel services and investors comprehensive benchmarks across a number of important criteria enabling them to track the health and growth of this travel segment.
The study also revealed that in 2014, this segment was worth $145 billion with 108 million Muslim travellers representing 10% of the entire travel economy. In 2014, Oman saw 670,000 Muslim arrivals into the country which accounts for 30% of the total arrivals.
The Muslim travel market is forecasted to grow to 150 million visitors by 2020 and 11% of the entire segment with a value projected to grow to $200 billion
"The MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index has today set a real precedent for the tourism industry," said Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating & HalalTrip.
"Not only is it the most in-depth research that we have undertaken so far on the fast-growing Muslim travel market, but has provided all stakeholders with some invaluable insight into how the halal-friendly tourism sector is growing and developing from a global perspective."
"CrescentRating has seen a recent huge shift towards more destinations targeting this sector like Japan and Taiwan, and it is a trend we expect to continue," he added.
"Partnering with Crescent Rating to develop the Global Muslim Travel Index has helped us better understand what travelers look for when exploring different destinations. We understand that travel is a core passion for many consumers and we hope that this Index will help our partners tailor products and services to the needs of this customer segment. The ranking will also help our consumers make more informed decisions, based on their specific requirements," said Raghu Malhotra, Division President, Middle East and North Africa, MasterCard.
Not surprisingly, Saudi Arabia saw the highest number of Muslim arrivals into the country in 2014 with 10.2 million followed by Turkey at 8.1 million.
All 100 destinations in the GMTI were scored against a backdrop of criteria which included suitability as a family holiday destination, the level of services and facilities it provides, accommodation options, marketing initiatives as well as visitor arrivals. Each criterion was then weighted to make up the overall index score.
Malaysia scored an Index score of 83.8, followed by Turkey at 73.8 while Oman had a GMTI of 66.7.
GMTI40, which will be updated quarterly around the year, will track the average score of the top 20 OIC and non-OIC destinations and will form the key index to monitor the performance of the Muslim travel segment.
The overall average score for 40 destinations (GMTI40) currently stands at 56 while the overall average GMTI score for the complete 100 destinations is at 43.8. From a regional perspective, Asia Pacific destinations lead with an average GMTI score of 54.
The Top 10 Non-OIC Destinations of GMTI 2015 
The full report is available here
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About Crescentrating Pte Ltd
CrescentRating is the world's leading authority on halal-friendly travel. The company's vision is to lead, innovate and drive this segment through practical and deliverable solutions in what is regarded today as one of the fastest growing segment in the tourism sector. The company uses insight, industry intelligence. lifestyle, behaviour and research on the needs of the Muslim traveller to deliver guidance on all aspects of halal-friendly travel to organisations across the globe.
CrescentRating's services now include rating & accreditation, research & consultancy, workshops & training, ranking & indices, event support/partnerships and content provisioning.
Website: www.crescentrating.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/crescentrating
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crescentrating
About MasterCard
MasterCard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 destinations and territories. MasterCard's products and solutions make everyday commerce activities - such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances - easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardAP and @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Pioneers Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.
© Press Release 2015
