Halal travel: the most popular holiday destinations for Muslim women
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It’s official: Muslim women are at the forefront of one of the fastest-growing sectors of the travel industry.
According to the latest report by MasterCard and CrescentRating, there were more than 140 million international Muslim travellers last year, and nearly half of them were women. Of these 63 million female travellers, several took more than three trips per year, primarily for leisure purposes. Importantly, the report found that these women are the lead decision-makers when it comes to family travel.
But what do female Muslim travellers want from a holiday? What most women want, it turns out. Safety and security, coupled with good food options, retail experiences and sightseeing opportunities. In addition, they want to eat halal food and stay in hotels with a female-only spa or alcohol-free mini bar. As a result, several destinations around the world are making a point of becoming more halal and female-friendly. Here are the places doing it best, according to the 2019 MasterCard CrescentRating Muslim Women in Travel study.
Brunei
One of the world’s most overlooked destinations, tiny Brunei welcomes fewer than 300,000 visitors every year, but is a hit with halal visitors. It is one of the safest places in the world, ranking third for security in the MasterCard CrescentRating study.
Direct flights from the UAE will get you to Brunei in eight hours and capital Bandar Seri Begawan has a rich Islamic history that makes halal-friendly sightseeing easy. The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque is one of the country’s most famous tourist attractions and is considered one of the most beautiful mosques in the Asia-Pacific region.
Away from the city, travellers have the opportunity to reconnect with nature. About two-thirds of the country is covered in rainforest, and visitors can come face-to-face with some of the world’s rarest wildlife, including proboscis monkeys and Sunda clouded leopards. Bruneian cuisine is another highlight and dining out is easy as almost all food is halal. The same goes for accommodation, with halal hotels plentiful and facilities for female travellers – such as prayer rooms and privacy screens – readily available, especially in the capital.
The UK
One of five non-Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) countries to make it on to the top 10 halal-friendly destinations for women is the United Kingdom. In the capital, a large Muslim population makes it easy to find halal food and places to worship, and London is also home to several halal-friendly luxury hotels – try the Holiday Villa Hotel London or The Dorchester, both of which offer halal food and prayer facilities.
For travellers who want to explore more than just the capital, cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Bradford are good picks thanks to their large Muslim populations, which equates to hassle-free halal travel. In Scotland, the Dunalastair Hotel Suites at Loch Rannoch serves up a full halal menu, paired with a glorious side of Schiehallion mountain views. In Wales, capital Cardiff is transforming into a cultural centre where museums, landmarks and halal-friendly dining can be found within easy walking distance of the city centre.
Australia
The country’s unique mix of cultures makes it a melting pot, so halal travellers, like all others, will find themselves well catered to. Sydney has the largest Muslim population in the country – it’s also where the popular burkini was invented so that Muslim women could more easily enjoy the city’s famed beaches. Halal food is readily available and travellers can find anything from traditional Lebanese, Indian and Turkish to halal versions of popular Aussie dishes. The same goes for Australia’s other big cities, with popular eateries including Marrakech Restaurant for Moroccan in north Adelaide, Efendy in Sydney or Gazi, a halal-friendly Melbourne hot spot headed up by Australian celebrity chef George Calombaris. Travellers can also find halal-friendly accommodation in almost all of Australia’s bigger cities. Try Rendezvous Hotel in central Melbourne or The Grace Hotel in Sydney where prayer mats, halal food and alcohol-free mini bars are provided upon request. And when it comes to touring around cities, Shebah is an all-female ride-hailing app that is a great way to travel safely.
Source: https://www.thenational.ae
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