AI Reshapes Global Muslim Traveler Trends, Asia Leads Growth

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how global travelers plan and book their trips, leading to a major shift in travel patterns, particularly within the Muslim travel market. Younger, digitally-savvy generations are increasingly dominating this sector.

The 2026 Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) report reveals that up to 80 percent of travelers now rely on AI tools as personal vacation assistants. These technologies have drastically simplified the consumer decision-making process. Tasks like finding destination information, confirming Muslim-friendly amenities, and finalizing bookings, which once took days, are now accomplished by AI in mere seconds.

Faizal Bahardeen, CEO and Founder of CrescentRating and HalalTrip, emphasized that AI algorithms have compressed the travel decision-making window from days to moments. In response, tourism industry players are adopting the AI Recommendation Readiness Audit (AIRA) to ensure their destination websites are optimized for AI-driven travel engines. "If it cannot be read by machines (machine-readable), then it will not be visible to the next generation of Muslim travelers and will not be recommended by AI systems," Bahardeen stated during the virtual launch of the GMTI 2026.

The latest GMTI data highlights Asia as the primary hub for Muslim travel, accounting for 65 percent of global Muslim arrivals, approximately 128 million trips. Amid geopolitical volatility, intra-Asian travel corridors are strengthening. Malaysia leads the 2026 GMTI rankings with a score of 83, followed by Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, all tied with 79. Singapore leads non-OIC destinations, ranking 10th globally with a score of 72.

AI is also driving diversification in the tourism sector. Mastercard Economics Institute Chief Economist David Mann noted that AI users exhibit different spending patterns, allocating larger budget shares to accommodation and experiential travel. Notably, AI algorithms are guiding travelers toward less-crowded "hidden gems" rather than solely popular mass-tourism destinations.

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If it cannot be read by machines (machine-readable), then it will not be visible to the next generation of Muslim travelers and will not be recommended by AI systems.