BANGKOK — The Mastercard-Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2024, which ranked Thailand 32nd among popular destinations for Muslim tourists and 5th among non-OIC countries, has made the Thai government confident about the halal industry.
On July 8, 2024, Government Spokesperson Chai Wacharong revealed that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin supports broad development of the halal industry, including food, tourism, fashion, and soft power, aiming to establish Thailand as a central hub for all dimensions of halal.
The PM has also ordered the relevant agencies to create plans to upgrade the halal industry development, increase tourism activities to attract Muslim tourists, and further strengthen Thailand’s prominence in this market to correspond with the country’s potential.
There is an expectation for high growth in the Muslim tourism market in 2024, with an estimated population of around 168 million international Muslim global tourists, a 5% increase over pre-COVID-19 levels.
This growth reflected the increasing importance of the Muslim tourist market. Mastercard-Crescent Rating has ranked the top Muslim tourist destinations in the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2024. With a score of 52, Thailand is ranked 5th among non-Muslim nations (Non-OIC) and 32nd out of 145 top tourist attractions for Muslims. This ranking remains unchanged from 2023.
Thailand is renowned for its natural beauty and pioneering role in the halal food and products industry. Since Thailand has significant Muslim communities, it has a cultural understanding, a multicultural environment, is friendly to Muslim tourists, and provides widespread availability of halal cuisine, making Thailand a top choice for Muslim tourists.
Meanwhile, part of the success is attributed to the Prime Minister’s policies that continuously develop the halal industry, which is in line with Thailand’s 5-year Halal Industry Development Policy (2024-2028). This initiative has led to the establishment of the Thai Halal Industry Center to elevate technology and manufacturing innovation, emphasizing value-added product creation alongside Halal standards.
It promotes domestic and international Halal trade, develops the Halal Ecosystem, establishes MOUs with target markets, and forms the National Halal Industry Committee (NHIC) to set policies for Thai Halal product development, enhancing Thailand’s soft power identity and driving the efficiency of the Halal industry towards becoming an ASEAN Halal Hub.
“The success of the Prime Minister’s policy to support the development of halal products means that Thailand remains one of the most popular destinations for Muslim tourists. Related to increasing competitiveness in order to meet the tourism trends of Muslim tourists,” Chai Wacharonke said.
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