31 January 2012 DUBAI – Trade between the UAE and New Zealand is expected to continue its significant growth, according to New Zealand Consul-General in Dubai Steve Jones.

Trade figures show New Zealand exports to the GCC have grown from $695 million in 2009 to $1.2 billion in 2011 that shows a 71 per cent increase over the two-year period.

Dubai’s attraction to more tourists will increase demand for food and beverage products and it will provide opportunities to New Zealand companies to boost exports, Jones, who is also trade commissioner for Middle East and Africa, told Khaleej Times in Dubai late on Sunday.

As the Dubai tourism market grows, demand for fine products will go up in parallel and New Zealand will be able to supply more products for tourism and hospitality sector in Dubai, he said.

“We would still be expected significant growth annual growth over the next couple of years,” Jones said, adding that UAE exports to New Zealand have also increased in the last couple of year, mostly petrochemicals.

Exports to the region are mostly dairy products where New Zealand companies have expertise at international level. It’s one of the biggest sectors for exports, he added.

“While New Zealand is well known as a food and beverage exporter, increasingly our exports to the Gulf region are diversifying away from just food and beverages to include ICT, education and consultancy, and specialised manufacturing,” he said.

He mentioned that 85 companies are working in the UAE and more new companies are expected to establish base in the UAE this year. He lists a number of companies which have made business impact in the region in the last year. These include weather forecasting and digital media company Metra, health technology company Winscribe, security systems firm Gallagher, and specialist composite construction engineering company Pultron Composites.

While trade ties are strengthened by New Zealand-based companies expanding into the region, there is also a clear government-level commitment to the region — with the opening of a New Zealand Embassy in the UAE, and joint New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise visits to Oman and Qatar. “New Zealand and the UAE have had an excellent economic and trade relationship for so many years now and the establishment of our embassy in Abu Dhabi underscores the fact that we are looking at further growing that relationship with the UAE across all sectors of society,” Malcolm Millar, Ambassador of New Zealand to the UAE, said.

“It is indeed noteworthy that our trade relations with this nation have witnessed tremendous growth and we are confident that those figures will keep an upward trajectory in the coming years.”

NZTE’s Beachheads programme — a global, public-private partnership of independent advisors and NZTE staff working closely with high-growth New Zealand businesses looking to succeed internationally — has helped an increasing number of growing businesses gain a foothold in the Middle East.

“Beachheads is a very successful programme worldwide, and we are planning to expand the service in the Middle East. It is most relevant to New Zealand companies with a permanent presence and senior management based in the region, and those planning for growth,” Jones said.

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com

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Over half the week’s meals are consumed outside the home

Here is an interesting survey that just came out. These findings come from the combined efforts of LivingSocial and YouGov statistics are in and they show that United Arab Emirates (UAE) are eating out a whopping 11 times a week. Considering an average week consists of 21 meals, which implies that UAE residents are eating out over 50% of the time.

The survey suggests that local Arabic cuisine is still top dog. Italian and Chinese restaurants then round out the top three choices. Ethiopian, Brazilian, Argentinean and German were the least popular food choices. Unfortunately the survey also pointed to the fact that friends are beating out family members to the table as preferred dining companions outside the home.

This latest report was commissioned by LivingSocial as part of its ongoing efforts to discover and share information about local social trends. The survey itself was based on the dining habits provided by 1,131 residents. The results are quite interesting and do provide certain insight into the tastes of local residents.

A breakdown of the respondents

• Lebanon – 57%
• UAE  - 35%
• Jordan – 23%
• Egypt – 17%
• Others – 3%

The majority of those surveyed (61%) were between the ages of 18 and 34.

According to the results, 64% of UAE residents dine out with their friends verses their family. Business colleagues proved the least popular choice with only 23% of respondents choosing to dine with their colleagues.

The study also revealed women preferred Arabic cuisine followed by Italian. Men preferred BBQ and pizza.

Take out choices

When it comes to preferred take-out options, pizza is the number one food choice according to 54% of those responding. Spicy carry-out came in second with most choosing Indian cuisine. Third on the take out menu was Arabic food.

The survey suggests that residents in the UAE are also a health-conscious crowd with 28% of respondents considering themselves “health nuts. More than two-thirds of those surveyed also say they don’t have a sweet tooth.”

Conclusions

Surveys like this help companies such as LivingSocial in their efforts to target deals. It would make little sense for a daily dealer to offer food vouchers on those foods that are not favored. Even though the survey was conducted on a small amount of residents, it also shows that there may be a tremendous opportunity considering how often it appears that UAE residents dine out.

Source: The Gulf Today

Short URL: http://www.dailydealmedia.com/?p=26611

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Crescentrating.com, a travel portal for Halal-conscious Muslim travellers, said that Malaysia was placed on the top spot because it has much to offer to Muslim travellers.

Second was Egypt, followed by Turkey, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Brunei and Qatar, according to the survey conducted by the portal.

Crescentrating.com said that the rankings were compiled based on the facilities and services provided by those countries to Muslim visitors, such as Halal food, Halal-certified restaurants, availability of mosques and family-friendly attractions.

The portal also conducted a survey of Halal Friendly Holiday Destinations in non-OIC countries for 2012.

Top of that list was Bosnia and Herzegovina. Second was Singapore, followed by South Africa, Sri Lanka, Gold Coast (Australia), Delhi (India), London (UK), Bangkok (Thailand), Munich (Germany) and Vienna (Austria).

“Bosnia and Herzegovina is ranked as the most Halal Friendly Holiday Destination in a non-OIC country because this crossroad, where East meets West, is an eclectic mix of traditional masjids and modern ski resorts, giving its tourists the best of both worlds,” Crescentrating said.

It said that all of the non-OIC countries listed have basic Halal-friendly facilities available as well, though they may not be as common or as popular as in OIC countries.

These destinations offer unique surroundings, atmospheres and attractions for visitors, the portal added.

Consultancy group AT Kearney, a global management firm, said that “the Halal market is estimated to be around US$2 trillion, underpinned by one of the fastest growing religions in the world.”

There are between 1.5 billion to 2.0 billion Muslims worldwide. — BERNAMA

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DAMMAM: A high-level delegation of tourism and culture ministers, government officials, bureaucrats, airline operators and tourism experts from different states of India is currently visiting the Kingdom to familiarize Saudis with all that “Incredible India” has to offer.

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Egyptians in the tourism sector are worried that proposals by Salafi political leaders advocating halal tourism would hurt a sector that is already in decline following the wave of political protests this year.

Several Salafi leaders recently discussed implementing halal tourism, which would ban alcohol and bikinis on the beach, and conceal statues. Salafi political groups, particularly the Nour Party fared well in the first round of parliamentary elections.

Egyptians working in the tourism sector said the statements made their customers uneasy.

“These statements have caused a reaction from foreign tourism companies, many of which called and sent faxes to inquire about the situation and the fate of tourist groups in the coming period, especially since night parties, alcohol and beaches are the primary interests for tourists,” said Maggie Hanna, a tour guide at the pyramids in Giza.

Despite assurances provided by tourism companies, Hanna said the news coverage has shaken confidence and is being reflected in bookings from abroad.

Hanna, who has worked in the tourism sector for many years, said she “can emphasise that the tourism advocated by the Salafis is not applicable in Egypt, primarily because of the nature of Egyptians, and also because of the nature of tourists”.

Hanna said she expects that Egyptian society as a whole would reject halal tourism “because of the nature of the Egyptian people”.

“Even if they supported the Salafis politically and electorally, they are open-minded people who accept others as they are,” Hanna said.

Mohammed al-Bunni, a shop owner who sells souvenirs in central Cairo, said he feared for his fate and the fate of thousands of workers who sell antique statuettes like him.

“All our goods are statues, and all tourists come to Egypt to see the statues and the pyramids and enjoy the beautiful beaches. These are our tourist attractions that we rely upon in our trade,” he told Al-Shorfa.

Al-Bunni said one in every eight Egyptians works in tourism and benefits from it directly, in addition to other sectors that rely upon from the tourism sector. Tourism generates more than 12 billion pounds annually ($2 billion), in addition to providing an essential source of hard currency.

With regard to banning bikinis on beaches, Hosni Bassiouni, the director of a hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh, told Al-Shorfa, “It would be a disaster if it happened.”

“The Egyptian shores are known for openness and freedom, and if this changes, it will be a great loss,” he said. “No European tourist will be able to adapt to the new situation. Gulf tourists, who provide the second source of funds for Egyptian tourism, will not be happy with these prohibitions which will transform the shores of Egypt into a replica of the beaches in the Gulf, which they were escaping to begin with”.

Restaurant and nightclub owners expressed concern about the impact of a potential ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages.

“The prohibition, if it happens, would shut down a lot of nightclubs, restaurants and coffee shops and will displace thousands of Egyptians, who would join the ranks of the unemployed,” said Mohamed Alashour, the manager of a tourist coffee shop on Cairo’s Pyramid Street.

He said that even if the ban was limited to certain hotels or areas, the result would be the same for tourists.

“It will be limited to five-star hotels, which are far from the archaeological and tourist areas that suit ordinary, middle-income tourists, which are the vast majority of tourists,” Alashour said.

Dr. Nader Bakkar, spokesman for the Salafist Nour Party, said halal tourism would revitalise the tourism sector. During an electoral event in the Gharbiya district on Thursday (December 15th), Bakkar said the tourism situation is already very bad and that the Salafists are seeking to establish a real tourism sector that would revitalise a “limp” Egyptian economy.

“The most renowned modern hotel chains in Zurich announced the establishment of 30 hotels compatible with Islamic Sharia, and no one criticised them or blamed them,” he said. “The Jawhara hotel chain in the Emirates has an occupancy rate that reaches 100%, and the tourist himself is curious about the habits and traditions of the country in which he travels, and foreigners were brought up in an environment that respects the law.”

Bakkar also said the party has a plan to double the number of tourists and increase tourism revenue.

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Will less travelers see Egypt’s ancient monuments?

CAIRO: Egypt’s Islamic groups are battling against fears that the tourism industry could suffer as they gain power in the country. The Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said they would hold a “Let’s encourage tourism” conference in Cairo to boost efforts to ensure the tourism sector continues to boom under their tutelage.

Still, the fears remain, with worries women could be barred from beaches in bikinis. Much of the worries come from firebrand ultra-conservative presidential hopeful Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail, who said recently that he would bar women in bikinis from beaches, and they could face arrest, if he were elected as the country’s next president.

The Salafist al-Nour party, also announced it was launching a tourism conference in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan to promote the industry.

The conferences come on the heels of both parties earning the lion’s share of votes in the first round of elections for Egypt’s new parliament.

Last year, some 15 million foreigners visited Egypt, but with the political and social situation tumultuous, fears are growing in the country that the tourism sector, a major foreign currency gainer, could face a downturn.

In line with Abu Ismail’s statements, a number of candidates and religious scholars have called for covering ancient monuments, banning alcohol, mixed gender beaches and gambling.

“Certainly, I am worried because my friends and I like to go to the beach on the weekend and my female friends where bikinis, so it is frustrating to see this happening,” said Abeer Yussif, a Jordanian-Egyptian university student. She told Bikyamasr.com that going to the beach “is one of our outlets from Cairo and we don’t like to be told what we can and can’t do.”

On the Muslim Brotherhood’s Facebook page on Saturday, images were posted of the group’s Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie shaking hands with foreigners in the historic city of Luxor.

FJP members also visited the ancient Pyramids of Giza on Saturday to show the “Brotherhood’s support for tourism,” read the Facebook page.

The Nour Party, which garnered some 20 percent of the voting thus far, hopes their conference will join forces with representatives of the tourism sector, including operators and hotel officials “in a bid to support the industry.”

“We do not want to ban tourism. On the contrary, we want revenue from tourism to multiply,” spokesman Nader Bakkar told the Egyptian satellite channel CBC on Saturday.

However, Bakkar did allude to the idea of segrgated beaches, which Yussif and her friends believe would spark outrage among much of the youth.

“It is wrong and I know that many of us will not stand for turning Egypt into another Saudi Arabia or Iran,” she argued.

“The Nour party does not want to ban beach tourism. But we do want to see a type of Halal tourism … such as segregation of beaches,” Bakkar was quoted as saying.

Since the 18 days of protests ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, the tourism industry and the economic situation facing Egypt has been hit hard, with fewer foreign visitors arriving to the country and business in Egypt becoming stagnant.

In the coming months, as parliament is finalized and a clear vision of Egypt’s future is developed, a better understanding of how tourism will be affected is likely to come to light. Yussif and her friends hope little changes in terms of their ability to enjoy a day in the sun, or take visitors to the ancient sites across the Nile River Valley.

“It is all really speculation right now and we wonder how many Egyptians would support segregation on beaches and the idea that ancient monuments should be covered,” she added.

BM

Second Article

The Telegraph

Egypt’s main Islamist parties on Sunday launched separate conferences aimed at promoting tourism as they scrambled to allay fears that the lucrative industry is under threat from religious conservatism.

The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) – the political arm of the influential Muslim Brotherhood – announced a conference in Cairo entitled “Let’s encourage tourism” that brought together industry leaders and party members.

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Consumers have been cheated due to economical reason?

On flights to the Islamic countries, Muslims are often the absolute majority of Passengers. The business of airline companies is booming not only in the Summer months, when Muslims with their large families in their home countries fly, but also during the Hajj season. As a target group that fly to the south and east to fill much sought after, we wondered how it looks like the onboard service for these customers?

According to information provided by IATA, the International Air Transport Association, there are no such rules as a “Muslim-friendly” look-flight meal, but each airline determines arbitrarily what they served their Muslim customers. This would be unobjectionable if the appropriate experts available in the employee pool would be sufficient among the airlines or the availability knowledge of Halal requirements for general education in Europe. But this is not so.

In reality, the airline caterer, supplier of on-board meals, in Europe simply overwhelmed them. So there are many caterers for the Muslim passengers are offering two different types of meal: the MOML – “Moslem Meal” and a “Halal Meal”.

The MOML – “Muslim Meal” is just a meal “without pork and without Alcohol “(In the jargon Airline Caterer term it is called a “Non-Pork”-Meal). Everything else does not meet the Islamic dietary laws. It is also not the laid down claim that the meat would be Halal slaughtered or the ingredients are Halal-compliant.

But the “Halal Meal”, instead is something “more halal” because the ingredients are purchased and processed so that they are Islam-compliant. This is true especially for the meat with halal confirmation.

Anyone familiar with the intricacies of the assessment of halal, knows that the buyers from the caterer should be overwhelmed with the appropriate ingredients to find for a Halal Meal, because on the local market do have only a few food ingredients and a Halal Certificate from a recognized Certification Authority or Halal Body.

According to information from the airline caterer, there are purely economic reasons, instead of “Halal Meals” is usually the cheaper to offer MOML “Muslim Meal”(Non Pork meal).

That with the (false) labeling MOML “Muslim Meal” for their Muslim Passengers and cheated or deceived halal meals are served to them, neither halal nor Islam is justifiable by these companies tacitly to accept it and claim the main component is true halal. As the claim of the airlines  companies agree to open-mindedness and customer orientation with the practice, their Muslim passengers are not been informed about what they are served and what will get to be seen.

As proven, that it can be handled in different manner without any negative impact on revenue and have real Halal service as demonstrated by the good example of Malaysia Airlines. This airline ordered in their contract from designated caterers throughout the year a specially compiled “Halal Meal “which are produced according to the strict Malaysian Airline Halal standards and is guaranteed to Islam-compliant.

Halal.deRedaktion
www.halal.de

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The initiative organised by Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) will be the first such commitment to be undertaken for the hotel sector. It comes in the wake of the increasing discussion presently underway on how hotels are adapting to the requirements of Halal certification.

Even though the Halal certification is an option for hotels,  many have decided to embed the logo into their operational processes, with the aim to capturing a bigger tourism market especially tourists from the Middle East and the Gulf countries. The year 2011 foresees close to 500,000 tourists from the region.Due to this trend many hotels are adapting their services more and more to their Muslim guests.

“We would like to assume that up till now several four and five-star hotels in the bigger cities are fully aware of the requirements of halal certification. However, there is yet a fairly big number in the hospitality trade and sector that have to understand the whole picture of Halal and its ancillary requirements for clean, safe and hygienic attributes,” said Dato’ Seri Jamil Bidin, chief executive officer of HDC.

Jamil also added, ” Halal tourism is becoming more and more popular each year. Malaysia, for instance, has been leading the way in the halal tourism industry and has been successful in trying to attract Muslim tourists from all over the world, especially the Middle Eastern travelers, by offering facilities in accordance with the religious beliefs of these Muslim tourists. HDC, being the key developer in the Halal Industry, is always looking for ways to assist the industry in getting ahead and I believe by offering this programme, hotels are pre-equiped when applying for Halal certification.”

The Halal Internal Auditors (HIA) programme for Hotels is being carried out in close cooperation with the Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH), and Jakim.

“The HIA comes as a next step to a dialogue we held with hoteliers in June 2009 and followed by Halal Awareness Programme in 2010 . The feedback from this dialogue indicated that many would like to become truly well versed with the entire checklist of requirements of Halal certification.

“The HIA is actually an expansion of HDC’s existing Internal Auditing workshop programme (HIP03).  Halal auditing has always been a mainstay in our training programmes, as Halal integrity is an encompassing concern in the Halal eco-system. HIA workshops will be offered to 15 more ready and willing hotels throughout Malaysia until end of 2011, and will continue in the following years,” added Jamil.

Participating hotel personnel will include executives and managers in charge of Halal matters, quality control and quality assurance, production and general operations of the hotel.

The programme content includes shariah principles and requirements related to Halal, the technical components of raw materials & ingredients, Halal certification integrated requirements, which includes Halal standards and manual procedures of Halal Certification Malaysia, internal audit Halal components and mock audits.

The three-day course will comprise lectures, presentations, workshop discussion and simulated audits. The key outcomes will enable the personnel to manage its own internal audit programmes from the planning phase till final report stage.

-Ends-

ABOUT HALAL INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION SDN BHD (HDC)
Halal Means Business
The Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) was established on 18 September 2006 with the express objective of coordinating the overall development of the Halal industry in Malaysia for both the domestic and international markets. HDC is an agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).

HDC is Malaysia’s holistic response to the worldwide demand for better quality products and services as consumers gain confidence in the Halal process. Its key thrusts are to grow and advance the development of Halal standards; facilitate capacity- building for halal products and services; and promote growth and participation of Malaysian companies in the multi-trillion dollar global halal market and industry. Today, there is an estimated population of 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. The global halal market is currently estimated at USD2.3 trillion covering both food and non-food sectors.

In its effort to serve as an international hub for the halal industry, HDC provides manufacturers, distributors, retailers, entrepreneurs, researchers and investors with comprehensive assistance to penetrate and serve a growing global halal market through the adoption of the Malaysian experience and expertise in food and non-food sectors. For more information, please visit HDC at - www.hdcglobal.com.

NEWS RELEASE prepared and issued on behalf of Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) by public relations consulting firms – Prestige Communications Sdn Bhd and GRA Communications Sdn Bhd. FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact Shafina Syafei, Head, Strategic Marketing & Communications, HDC at +6019 3880280 or email shafina.syafei@hdcglobal.com OR Norsida Ahmad (PR-HDC) at +6012-324-9703 or email norsida.ahmad@hdcglobal.com OR Ghazalie Abdullah at +6017 3361090.

© Press Release 2011

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The halaal hospitality industry caters to the needs of Muslim families who abide by Sharia rules. The most strict halaal hotels do not serve alcohol or pork; they have prayer facilities and separate swimming pools and spa facilities for men and women.

The mixture of different religions, customs and tradition combined with rich historic background and natural landscape makes Bosnia a hot tourist destination. To halaal tourists the country can be especially attractive with its cultural heritage of a territory that was once part of the Ottoman empire.

“We definitely have a significant inflow of foreign tourists from the Islamic countries, though we should not forget that quite a big number of people who live according to halaal rules and observe the halaal practices live in the European Union,” Sakic said.

He said that more than 15 million Muslims live in the European Union, according to official data, and they are all potential clients of the halaal hospitality industry.

“It is important that these services are not limited to Muslims exclusively,” he said, drawing a parallel with halaal food fans in Britain, two-thirds of whom are non-Muslims.

“If we have to make a profile of those who want such a service, these are not only people who come on vacation, but also people who come on business and for other reasons.”

Sakic said that there is no comprehensive official data about foreign tourist arrivals in Bosnia but it is a fact that a huge number of tourists from Turkey visit the Balkan country throughout the year and the number of tourists coming from Kuwait is on the rise.

Halaal tourism is an emerging industry, which hopes to ride the wave of success of the Islamic food and banking industries. Progress, however, is slow. The agency Sakic heads was founded six years ago and since then has certified, or is in the process of certifying, all the leading food makers in Bosnia but has awarded only one licence to a local restaurant – the Terasa restaurant in Sarajevo – and none to a hotel yet.

This situation will change shortly as the country’s first halaal hotel will soon be certified, he said, adding that the agency is reviewing several certification applications at the moment.

“We already have hotels that are 90 per cent ready to provide such a service,” he said.

In June, the agency signed a partnership agreement with Singapore-based Crescentrating, the world leader in providing halaal–friendly rating for the travel services, on the promotion of halaal–friendly travel services and facilities in Southeast Europe.

Halaal–friendly hotels are ranked on a one-to-seven grade scale according to the scope of halaal services they provide. A rating of one to three implies practically no adjustment to a regular hotel apart from the “soft change” that includes readiness to provide guests with specific information about halaal services and facilities in the hotel’s surrounding area. Grades four and five mean the hotel’s restaurant should serve halaal food.

Hotels graded six and seven are known as “dry hotels” as they offer no alcohol.

Halaal hotels in Bosnia can start off with a very good grade, as one reason for this is the progress made in the certification of food companies which guarantees smooth supply of halaal food, Sakic said.

The scope of the agency is not limited to Bosnia only. It is the only halaal certification oragnisation in SEE, issuing halaal certificates to catering facilities and hotels in Albania, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria and Macedonia. It provides halaal certification of the food industry, as well as other industrial branches, on the territory of Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. It has so far issued certificates for more than 1500 food products to companies from the ex-Yugoslavia countries.

“Excluding Kosovo, where such a certification has not yet officially started, all other republics of former Yugoslavia already have certified food producers,” Sakic said.
Back to tourism, in June the agency together with Crescentrating organised a round table to promote halaal travel services, targeting hoteliers and tourism agencies from Bosnia, Slovenia and Montenegro. The event has yielded tangible results.

“In the first week after the promotion we received a line of inquiries from tourism agencies from the Gulf countries, asking us to help them establish contact with our agencies so that they could co-operate in the sector.”

Inspired by the success, Sakic said more such promotions in other countries in the region will follow. The role of the local tourist agencies in promoting this service and including it in tourist packages and arrangements is extremely important, he said.

Most applications for halaal hotel certificates come from Bosnia and Slovenia, Sakic said, adding that he expects to see interest rise after the end of the summer season.

“Busy work on co-ordinating and preparing for awarding certificates to winter resort hotels is underway at the moment, and it is pretty certain that before the start of the winter season a definite number of hotels will be completely ready to provide halaal services to their clients.”

In the summer resorts, the preparations for the launch of halaal services should be wrapped up during the autumn and the winter, he said.

Bosnia has only several kilometers of coastline but is rich in picturesque mountains that could be promoted as tourism destinations throughout the year.

“The mountain resorts hide significant potential and can be interesting beyond the winter season with an adequate organisation of recreation and sport activities such as mountain trekking, paragliding and others,” Sakic said.

Bosnian capital Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics and nine sports venues in the city and its surrounding mountains were used.

In Sakic’s view, Bosnia should promote the full range of its attractions as a traditional tourist destination to lure halaal tourists – its medieval heritage, as well as the numerous monuments from the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian period.

Crescentrating said that the three highest-ranked places in its 2011 list of top 10 destinations for Muslim travellers worldwide were Malaysia, Turkey and Egypt.

The share of Muslim travellers in the 2010 global tourism spending rose to nine per cent, or $90 billion, from six er cent in 2006, data from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and Crescentrating showed.

Crescentrating sees the share of Muslim travellers in global tourism spending moving up to between 12.5 per cent and 15 per cent in 2020, which translates to between $188 billion and $225 billion, based on the rising share of Muslims in the world’s population.

Reprinted from SEE TOP 100, the only ranking of the largest non-financial companies, banks and insurers in Southeastern Europe. It features 132 pages of industry analyses and forecasts, expert opinions and interviews with the region’s leading executives and business people. SEE TOP 100 is published by SeeNews, a business information provider for Southeast Europe, in strategic partnership with the global strategic management consulting firm A.T. Kearney and in exclusive content partnership with Euromonitor International. For more information please visit http://top100.seenews.com or request a hard copy at consulting@seenews.com.

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