{"id":13441,"date":"2019-05-01T12:36:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T08:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/?p=13441"},"modified":"2019-05-01T12:36:57","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T08:36:57","slug":"diversify-and-digitise-to-attract-younger-muslim-travellers-gcc-destinations-told-at-atm-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/diversify-and-digitise-to-attract-younger-muslim-travellers-gcc-destinations-told-at-atm-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Diversify And Digitise To Attract Younger Muslim Travellers, GCC Destinations Told At ATM 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gulf hospitality operators looking to increase their share of the growing halal tourism market should diversify and digitise their offerings to suit younger generations of Muslim travellers, according to experts speaking at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the GDP impact of Muslim travel in the Middle East on course to hit USD 36 billion by 2020 \u2013 up from USD 30.5 billion in 2017, according to Salam Standard \u2013 halal tourism represents a lucrative prospect for GCC hospitality brands. The segment is expected to create 1.2 million regional direct and indirect jobs by next year.<\/p>\n

Representatives from Wego<\/a>, DinarStandard<\/a>, Shaza Hotels<\/a>, Tripfez<\/a>, Serendipity Tailormade<\/a>, Mosafer C by Ummah Collaboration<\/a>, holidayme<\/a>, Orange County Visitors Association<\/a>, Cape Town Tourism<\/a> and Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)<\/a> explored ways to tap into the growing segment of Gen Z and millennial travellers at the Global Halal Tourism Summit 2019<\/a>, which took place on ATM\u2019s Global Stage.<\/p>\n

Mamoun Hmedan<\/a>, Managing Director \u2013 MENA and India, Wego, said: \u201cThere are new destinations popping up out of nowhere. Developers are building properties from scratch, with halal-friendly offerings that are designed to appeal to younger generations of Muslim travellers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWego does a lot of work on social media and collaborates with tourism boards to educate people about the opportunities available to them when they travel. We make sure we always have options for our customers to look for properties near to mosques or attractions that may be of interest to Muslim travellers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Approximately 41 per cent of Muslim travellers\u2019 global outbound spending comes from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to figures released by Salam Standard. The Middle East\u2019s total outbound spend is projected to grow to USD 72 billion by 2020.<\/p>\n

In addition to emerging trends such as eco, ethical, all-female, experiential, gastro and adventure tourism, panellists also discussed digitisation and success stories from \u2018non-Muslim\u2019 destinations such as Orange County, Cape Town and Japan.<\/p>\n

Chris Nader<\/a>, Vice President, Shaza Hotels, said: \u201cGen Z and millennial travellers are setting the trends in halal tourism. The biggest challenge for us involves the resort side of the market \u2013 providing the privacy and facilities that Muslim guests need while delivering the entertainment they are looking for. It can be a challenge to create that mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever we create a resort, we have to develop something that is culturally relevant to the location. Travellers are no longer looking for \u2018just a hotel\u2019; they want to know what we can offer in terms of experiences. So, Muslim travellers don\u2019t necessarily need to see halal branding but they do need to know that halal services are available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Industry-wide investment in halal tourism-related travel technology currently stands at approximately USD 40 million, according to research conducted by DinarStandard. Panellists agreed that this figure is likely to grow further in the future, as younger Muslim travellers continue to drive innovation in online services.<\/p>\n

Faeez Fadhlillah<\/a>, CEO, Tripfez, said: \u201cIf you look at the distribution of millennials globally, many of them are living in Muslim-majority countries. In the next 10 years, the youth in this region are going to play a significant role in driving tourism trends. That\u2019s why online travel agencies are so interested in meeting demand from Muslim travellers. Companies are doing everything they can to capture this market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Running until Wednesday, 1 May, ATM 2019 will see more than 2,500 exhibitors showcase their products and services at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). Viewed by industry professionals as a barometer for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) tourism sector, last year\u2019s edition of ATM welcomed 39,000 people, representing the largest exhibition in the history of the show.<\/p>\n

For more information about ATM 2019, visit: https:\/\/arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gulf hospitality operators looking to increase their share of the growing halal tourism market should diversify and digitise their offerings to suit younger generations of Muslim travellers, according to experts speaking at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019. With the GDP impact of Muslim travel in the Middle East on course to hit USD 36 billion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13441"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13444,"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13441\/revisions\/13444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}