The US is the biggest beneficiary of global Muslim tourism spend, according to an economic impact report by Salam Standard.
The Economic Impact of Muslim Tourism on the United States 2015-2016 paper revealed that the Muslim travel market accounted for US$145 billion of total international tourism spend in 2015, with the US receiving a 24 per cent share or almost US$35 billion.
Muslim tourism also contributed US$16 billion to US GDP in 2015, driving the prosperity of restaurants, hotels, cultural venues, travel agents, airlines, local transport and retailers country-wide.
“The US benefits more from Muslim tourism than any other economy in the world in terms of direct GDP impact,” said Faeez Fadhlillah, co-founder and CEO of Salam Standard.
“And when you take into account multiplier effects, the total impact of inbound Muslim tourism spend on US GDP is a staggering US$50.8 billion, accounting for more than 10 per cent of total inbound tourism spend in the US. This represents a huge opportunity for the country’s travel industry, particularly given the global Muslim tourism market is expected to grow by 50 per cent in volume and 35 per cent in value over the next five years.”
Muslim travel also supports more than 600,000 jobs in the US in terms of total employment, according to the report.
The US should therefore be looking for ways to boost its halal-friendly tourism offering and market it digitally to the fast-growing Muslim travel community, the research paper suggests.
While faith-based needs of Muslim travellers can vary according to country of origin, universal requirements include the availability of halal-certified food, the observance of prayer times and the absence of alcohol.
Salam Standard’s report makes a number of recommendations to the US travel industry in this regard, including providing prayer mats and places to worship, as well as halal food.
Salam Standard, launched in October last year, is an online reference tool that categorises hotels according to their adherence to Muslim-friendly requirements and makes the content available to Muslim travellers.
