Here they are:

• There are approximately 1.7 billion Muslims currently growing at 1.5% annually to 2.2 billion by 2030 –> fastest growing population in the World [source: Pew Forum].

• €102 billion was spent by Muslims on travelling in 2011 growing by 4.8% annually, faster than any other group –> expected to grow to more than €150 billion by 2020 [source: BBC].  This excludes Hajj and Umrah travel.

• The global Halal consumer market is estimated at €2 trillion annually.

What does this all mean in the context of Muslim travel in particular?

As Muslims become more affluent, they seek to discover the World and many want to venture beyond Muslim countries but never compromising on things fundamental to their faith such as Halal food and prayer. Many countries like Australia are keen to attract Muslim travellers, recognising it to be a very lucrative market and have been as a result, positioning themselves as Muslim-friendly destinations. An article written by Shelina Janmohamed, Vice President of Ogilvy Noor which covers more on this can be found in Quran Focus.

We need to also make it easier for Muslims to find these places {Seek}, get there {Travel} and share their experiences so others can benefit from that information {Experience}. The Al-Musafir App aims to facilitate this via the approximately 300 million Muslims currently using smartphones, growing to just over 1 billion by 2030 (derived from information sourced mainly from Google).

Although a priority, Muslim travel is no longer confined to just Mecca to perform the Haj or Umrah.