ITB Asia, Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show, has extended its partnership with CrescentRating to deliver another exclusive insights programme into the multi-billion dollar Muslim travel market.

According to findings from the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2017, the most comprehensive research on the Muslim travel market, the sector will continue to grow at a fast pace and is estimated to reach US$220 billion in 2020. With more than 50 percent of Muslims under the age of 30 years*, insights and discussions on the impact of Muslim millennial travellers on destinations and businesses will take centre stage at this year’s conference.

“With the Muslim travel sector emerging as one of the influential travel niches in the global marketplace, we are delighted to partner with CrescentRating once again to shed more light on the challenges and opportunities in this evolving sector.” said Katrina Leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia. “Delegates attending ITB Asia from all over the world can look forward to gain in-depth insights on how to strengthen their position in the halal tourism industry.”

It included travel industry stakeholders and online travel industry players eager to learn and share insights and ideas in leveraging this growth market to attract more travellers and encourage trade. Panel discussions focused on national strategies to develop Halal tourism, the readiness of travel services and the use of technology to target Muslim consumers.

Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating and HalalTrip, said: “We are looking forward to building on last year’s successful foundation with ITB Asia and deliver another ground-breaking event where innovative voices come together.