Macau was included in this year’s Global Muslim Travel Index 2025 (GMTI), placing 16th globally among Muslim-friendly destinations in destinations outside the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and fifth in Muslim women-friendly destinations, also non-OIC.
Macau’s rankings were announced on Friday in a statement by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), noting that this was the first time that the city was included in the index, which is published by CrescentRating and Mastercard
The statement said that the GMTI, which marks its 10th edition, conducts an analysis of 153 destinations within and outside the OIC. Its official website noted that the index assesses a destination’s “readiness to cater to halal and Muslim-friendly travellers”.
Regarding the global ranking, the statement said that the evaluation looks at multiple criteria to reflect the “overall environment and the efforts of the destinations to cater to Muslim travellers through better services and inclusive offerings”.
Meanwhile, the Muslim women-friendly destinations category ranks destinations according to the overall “secure environment to ensure peace of mind, without faith restrictions for Muslim women travelling solo or in groups”.
The statement added that Macau also ranked among the top 10 in the
the Muslim-friendly accessible destinations category (non-OIC), which evaluates the travel environment to cater to visitors with special needs and considers “accessibility environment, transport infrastructure, along with the safety and Muslim-friendliness of the destinations”.
The results enhance the city’s appeal to Islamic travellers, an important travel segment that MGTO has been targeting and aiming to welcome as part of its efforts to diversify Macau’s visitor source markets, according to the statement
This handout photo provided by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) on Friday shows the Halal Travel Guide being distributed during a promotion in Malaysia in April.
