Indonesia Increasingly Attracts Muslim Women Travellers, Ranks Second Globally
Indonesia has placed second in the world as a destination friendly to Muslim women travellers in the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2026. Indonesia shares the position with Qatar, scoring 81, and sits just below Malaysia, which ranks first with a score of 84.
The ranking indicates Indonesia is increasingly attracting Muslim women travellers who consider factors such as safety, comfort, access to services, and ease of obtaining information when travelling.
The GMTI 2026 report notes that Muslim women represent one of the continuously growing segments in the global tourism industry. They account for around 48 per cent of total international Muslim traveller trips and play an important role in determining family travel decisions.
Founder and CEO of CrescentRating, Fazal Bahardeen, said the global Muslim travel market has continued to show strong growth in recent years. “In 2025, the number of international Muslim traveller trips reached 196 million. That figure is projected to increase to 208 million in 2026 and reach 262 million by 2030,” Fazal said at the GMTI 2026 launch in Singapore on Thursday (18/6/2026).
According to him, this growth is supported by the rising global Muslim population, which is estimated to reach 2.57 billion by 2036. Around 70 per cent of them are under 40 years old and are active users of digital technology.
Fazal assessed that competition among Muslim-friendly travel destinations is no longer determined solely by the availability of facilities. The presence of easily accessible digital services and information has become an increasingly important factor for travellers in deciding on a destination. “Destination competition has shifted from merely the availability of facilities to the ability to be visible within the digital ecosystem,” he said.
Besides Indonesia, the countries in the top five destinations friendly to Muslim women travellers are Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. This achievement strengthens Indonesia’s position as one of the world’s main halal tourism destinations amid the growth of the global Muslim traveller market.
In the overall GMTI rankings, Indonesia rose to second place in the list of Muslim-friendly destinations worldwide. After placing fifth last year, Indonesia now shares second position with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, scoring 79. Malaysia still maintains the top spot with a score of 83, while Qatar is in fifth place with a score of 76.
The Mastercard-CrescentRating report noted Indonesia as one of the countries with the largest ranking improvement this year. Indonesia’s score rose three points compared to last year, enabling it to jump three levels from fifth to second place.
Fazal Bahardeen reiterated that the number of international Muslim traveller trips is expected to continue growing in the coming years. He warned that destinations unable to present information about Muslim-friendly services digitally risk not appearing in artificial intelligence-based recommendations. Therefore, the digitalisation of services and information has become a necessity for destinations wishing to compete in the global Muslim travel market.
Indonesia’s rise in the rankings demonstrates the increasingly fierce competition among Muslim-friendly destinations at the global level. Amid the growing number of Muslim travellers worldwide, Indonesia now sits behind Malaysia and is level with Saudi Arabia and Turkey on the list of the world’s best Muslim-friendly destinations.