Muslim women – around 63 million, to be precise – spent more than $80 billion while travelling in 2018, according to a study recently released by MasterCard and CrescentRating. The news on this demographic should be a brightly shining indicator to digital marketers of a key sector that many big players in the hospitality industry have largely overlooked so far.
Ready for more
Seventy per cent of Muslim women travelled with their families. Nearly three out of 10 of the trips taken by Muslim women were solo voyages, reflecting a particularly rapidly growing part of this growing demographic. Two out of every three respondents were under 40 years of age. The primary concern for them is leisure, which 9 of 10 respondents listed as a significant motivation for travel. A sense of exploration, getting re-energised and a focus on family were also key parts of the findings. Over 20 per cent of respondents named religious reasons as a key factor for travel while 11 per cent ranked business as another important reason for travelling.
Looking for deals, digitally
More than fifty per cent of the women covered in the survey use the Internet and social media sites platforms in particular to find places to stay and eat and ways of getting around. Religious factors that factored into the preferences of the traveler surveyed included access to prayer rooms reserved exclusively for women, as well as single-sex beauty parlors and spas. Halal dining options as well as security are also of a significant concern to female Muslim travellers, who are characterised overall in the report as being willing to pay for the services and preferences they desire, and find them online.
Thailand in prime position to profit
The report ranks Thailand second for women travellers adhering to Islam among nations that are not members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The segment remains little understood, which stakeholders looking to capitalise on this emerging demographic would to well to pay closer attention to.
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