Tempo.Co, Ninis Chairunissa, Jakarta – Indonesia managed to grab the Top Muslim Friendly Destination of The Year 2023 in the Mastercard Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2023 in Singapore, which is an improvement from last year's second place.
"We got an unexpected result that saw Indonesia placing first in the Global Muslim Travel Index," said Sandiaga Uno, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister on Saturday, June 3.
He expressed his pleasant surprise by stating that the first spot was aimed to be achieved in 2025, "But in 2023, this team that prepared it managed to execute our finest programs which made us place first. This is an achievement."
Sandiaga Uno asserted that this achievement is the result of a collaboration of related parties, especially the Indonesian Halal Tourism Association (PPHI), Halal In Travel, Mastercard Crescent, and other unmentioned collaborators.
Through this collaboration, PPHI was able to win two awards at once, namely Stakeholder Awareness Campaign of the Year from the Mastercard Crescent Rating GMTI Awards and Stakeholder Awareness Campaign of the Year from the Halal In Travel Awards 2023.
"We are aiming for 8.5 million tourists will be accommodated by halal tourism," said the Minister.
The tourism ministry's website states five halal destinations in Indonesia filed under the Indonesia Muslim Travel Index that are spread across Aceh, Lombok, West Sumatra, Riau Islands, and Jakarta.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1734117/indonesia-tops-halal-tourism-in-global-muslim-travel-index-202