SPEECH

Y.BHG. DATO’ HAJI AZIZAN NOORDIN

DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL (PROMOTION) OF TOURISM MALAYSIA

LAUNCH OF THE MASTERCARD-CRESCENTRATING

GLOBAL MUSLIM TRAVEL INDEX

2015 WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2015

Assalamualaikum and a very good evening to:

? Matthew Driver, President, Southeast Asia, MasterCard,

? Safdar Khan, Group Country Manager, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei; Group Head, Islamic Payments, MasterCard,

? Fazal Bahardeen, Chief Executive Officer of CrescentRating and HalalTrip,

? Distinguished guests,

? Esteemeed members of the media,

? Ladies and Gentleman,

It is my pleasure and privilege to be present here today for the official launch of the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index, an exciting resource for the Muslim travel market. It is a timely initiative reflecting the growing trend of Muslim tourism today.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Islamic Tourism used to be associated with travelers who bring their own food and even cooking utensils when they travel overseas especially to non-Muslim countries. It was also associated with the Hajj & Umrah travel. Now, things are much different.

As we all understand, the global travel landscape changed tremendously after the September 11 incident. Needless to say, the social climate facing Muslims in certain countries deteriorated, and so did the comfort level of Muslims visiting these countries.

All of this is changing now as the Tourism industry of non-Muslim countries have realized what a very big potential the Islamic Tourism market actually is.

Muslims worldwide are becoming more affluent and with a population of 1.6 billion and growing very fast and very rich, anyone in the travel and tourism industry who wants to grow their market share would do well in servicing this niche market segment.

Already some of the world's biggest destinations have become Muslim-savvy. Let me quote a few examples:

? Thailand, known for their spa and wellness, have introduced the concept of Muslim-friendly spas where female clients are accommodated in private rooms in a bid to lure tourists from the Middle East

? Japan has Halal Japanese food on the menu, prayer rooms at public places, and even a mobile app to help Muslims locate and identify halal products in Japan.

? Taiwan has produced a Muslim guide with prayer times, lists of halal restaurants and mosques. The Government has also started issuing halal certification of restaurants and hotels that meet requirements.

Clearly, Islamic Tourism is gaining the attention of the global tourism industry due to the high potential and returns. Tourism boards across the world have set their sights on West Asian travellers - especially those from the UAE and the GCC - to pump money into their respective economies.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In Malaysia, the West Asia market is recognized as the highest spenders with the longest span of stay with an average of RM7,724.70 throughout 8.3 nights (based on 2013 statistics). Without a doubt, tourism destinations all over the world will face stiff competition from each other in wooing this goldmine of a market.

Malaysia has put in great promotional efforts since we first penetrated the market in the 1990s. Among them was the "Feel at Home" campaign to make West Asia tourists more comfortable in our country with Arabic-speaking tourist guides, the designation of a special immigrations lane for families at KLIA, and an Arab Street in KL.

We also set up the Islamic Tourism Centre or ITC, in 2009, to focus on the development of the Islamic tourism segment. ITC aims not only to facilitate Muslim travellers when they come to Malaysia but also to promote the Islamic heritage and culture of Malaysia to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Ladies and gentlemen,

These efforts to reach out to the traveling public and communicate a moderate and progressive image of Malaysia have borne fruit.

The growth of tourist arrivals from West Asia into Malaysia surged in just a short span of time. In the early years of Tourism Malaysia's penetration of the market (in the late 1990s), arrivals from that region were less than 20,000. Last year, arrivals from West Asia were recorded at 353,955 with the top three markets being recorded by Saudi Arabia (113,921), Iran (72,264) and Iraq (27,124).

I am happy to learn that recently, Malaysia topped Crescentrating's list of Halal-Friendly Holiday Destinations for the fourth consecutive year.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are positive that Islamic tourism will continue to play a significant role in the vitality of the country's overall tourism landscape. We will definitely engage with West Asians, but also with Muslims from other countries, i.e. Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, China, India and so forth.

In fact, we are deeply commited to enhancing our tourism offerings to increase the competitiveness of Malaysia as a travel destination of choice for visitors from all over the world. One of the main initiaitives is the Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015 campaign to showcase Malaysia's diverse festivities and cultures.

In our efforts, we will continue to seek participation and cooperation from the private sector to accelerate the overall competitiveness of the tourism industry. We commend MasterCard and CrescentRating's efforts in developing an informative tool that is able to provide deep insights into the Muslim travel market, enabling the tourism industry to better track its growth. At the same time, it opens opportunities for the industry to better understand the needs of the travellers, improve services and offerings which will inevitably raise the standards of tourism here in Malaysia.

This collaboration between MasterCard and CrescentRating, leaders in payment technology and halal-friendly travel respectively, is valuable to us as their expertise will lend further depth to tourism insights not only locally, but regionally and internationally. Their dedication and passion towards the Muslim lifestyle segment is a positive attribute that can help inspire the travel community to take greater attention and be more open to the possibilities in this dynamic segment.

With that, I officially declare the launch of the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2015.

Thank you.

END