Malaysia has emerged as the leading nation that best supports the multi-trillion dollar global Islamic economy, according to DinarStandard in its State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2022.

Malaysia also continues to remain in the top spot in the overall rankings for the ninth consecutive year.

It is followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia.

The report’s Global Islamic Economy Indicator Score ranks Malaysia in the top spot in four out of six sectors, namely Muslim-friendly travel, Islamic finance, halal food as well as Media and Recreation.

The country was second and ninth in pharma and cosmetics and modest fashion respectively.

In terms of Muslim-friendly travel, Malaysia was included in the top five Muslim travel destination countries, alongside Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran.

“Alhamdulillah, Malaysia is on the right track in preparing the tourism industry players for the burgeoning Muslim tourist market. During the pandemic, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac), through its agency, Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) has ramped up efforts to train and upskill tourism industry stakeholders to understand and cater to this market with its unique faith-based needs,” said Motac Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

“ITC has supported the industry by developing standards and guidelines to strengthen the Muslim tourism and hospitality service delivery. Islamic Tourism ecosystem and the Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality branding are the way forward as we safely reopen Malaysia’s borders to new and returning visitors,” she said in a statement yesterday.

ITC said in the same statement that Malaysia’s strengths in this area were attributed to ease of travel and public awareness.

In the report, Malaysia topped two of the five government benchmark dimensions, specifically in governance that focuses on travel rules and regulations, and awareness, referring to media coverage and stakeholder training.

“In championing Islamic Tourism, one of the narratives we use to drive industry interest is that Islamic tourism strengthens business growth, environmental awareness and protection, tolerance, integration, cultural and heritage appreciation and more,” says ITC DG Datuk Dr Mohmed Razip Hasan.

The State of the Global Islamic Economy Report is an annual publication released by DinarStandard in partnership with Salaam Gateway, Islamic economy news and media platform, supported by the Dubai Economy and Tourism Department.