TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia climbed to the second spot in the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2022, proving its potential and competitiveness in halal tourism. Published by CrescentRating in tandem with MasterCard, the travel index ranks countries based on their performance in catering to Muslim travelers.

“Indonesia climbed to the second rank from the fourth place last year,” said Founder and CEO of CrescentRating & Halaltrip Fazal Bahardeen at the Halal In Travel Global Summit 2022 in Singapore, Wednesday, June 1.

Indonesia outperformed Saudi Arabia in third, Turkey in fourth, and United Arab Emirates in fifth place. Malaysia, meanwhile, has again topped the list

Fazal Bahardeen also presented the Halal Travel Personality of The Year award from CrescentRating & Halaltrip 2022 to Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno who was deemed the driving force in the development of halal tourism in the archipelago.

In his speech at the forum, Sandiaga expressed his gratitude for the award, hoping that it would encourage efforts to revive the tourism sector and the creative economy.

“We hope that this award will bring recovery, open jobs, and inshallah, restore the economy through halal tourism,” he remarked.

However, he emphasized that halal tourism did not mean the Islamization of tourist sites, but rather provides additional services to meet the needs of Muslim travelers. “We prioritize several destinations [for halal tourism], namely Aceh, West Sumatra, West Java, Lombok, and South Kalimantan,” said Sandiaga Uno.

NINIS CHAIRUNNISA

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