ABSTRACT
Malaysia is now looking for a new horizon of global tourism and plays a leading role in promoting Islamic tourism (Utusan Malaysia, 2010). The Muslim market is of great significance and the number of Muslim travellers is expected to increase as the global population increases, along with the prosperity in Muslim countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (Scott & Jafari, 2010). More than 50 Muslim countries and about 1.6 billion Muslims are the potential and lucrative market. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reports that international tourism continued its momentum with a 5 per cent growth, or an additional 52 million international tourists, recorded a world total of 1,087 billion arrivals in 2013. Muslim tourism contributed US$141 billion, that is, more than 10 per cent of global tourism, 78 per cent from 57 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Muslim-majority countries and 22 per cent from Western Muslim-minority countries. The world’s Muslim population will increase from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2020 and Muslims will make up 26.4 per cent of the world’s total projected population of 8.3 billion in 2030 (Pew Research, 2014).
