Maldives has been ranked 16th in the MasterCard-Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index 2017. This is an ascent of two ranks when compared to 2016.
The GMTI 2017 consists of new and updated insights on the Halal travel and tourism market. The Index covers a total of 130 countries to benchmark destinations in the Muslim Travel Market.
Malaysia topped the list for the second year running while the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Indonesia and Qatar round off the top five OIC countries. Asia and Europe are the two leading regions attracting Muslim visitors, accounting for 87% of the entire Muslim travel market.
In 2015, the estimated total Muslim visitor arrivals were 117 million, representing 10% of the entire travel economy.