Muslim tourism: 80% of travelers already use AI to prepare their stays
Muslim tourism continues to grow. It could reach 262 million international travelers by 2030, for about $310 billion in spending annually, according to the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2026.
Published by Mastercard and CrescentRating, the Global Muslim Travel Index is one of the leading international studies dedicated to Muslim tourism. Every year, it analyzes destinations, travelers’ expectations and major developments in the sector. This growth is accompanied by a significant change in the way we prepare for our trips. According to the study, 80% of travelers now use artificial intelligence tools to organize their stays.
Halal restaurants, mosques, places of prayer, Muslim-friendly hotels or adapted activities: instead of searching for information on several sites, travelers can now directly ask an AI to offer them a stay according to their needs. For Fazal Bahardeen, founder of CrescentRating and HalalTrip, destinations must adapt. It is no longer enough to offer a halal offer or prayer spaces. This information must also be visible, reliable and easily understood by artificial intelligence tools.
CrescentRating has also developed AIRA (AI Recommendation Readiness Auditor), a tool that measures whether a destination or tourism business can be easily identified and recommended by AI systems. But one problem remains important: the reliability of halal information. Prayer times or qibla direction are easy to integrate into digital tools. On the other hand, halal certifications remain very different depending on the countries and organizations.
An AI can therefore find a restaurant presented as halal without always being able to verify whether this information is really reliable. Trust therefore becomes a major issue. A bad recommendation can quickly make the traveler lose confidence. AI can also help better understand the differences between Muslim travelers. Everyone may share certain religious requirements, but their habits, their budget and their expectations are not the same depending on whether they come from the Gulf, Europe, Asia or North America.
Some hotel chains are already starting to adapt. In Singapore, Far East Hospitality, for example, is modifying certain services for its customers from the Gulf, in particular by replacing alcohol in minibars and offering more suitable equipment. Muslim tourism is therefore entering a new stage. After the development of the halal and Muslim-friendly offer, the challenge is now to be visible, reliable and well identified by the artificial intelligence used by travelers.
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