Singapore retains top non-OIC rank in 2026 Global Muslim Travel Index, AI adoption surges

Quick summary

Singapore ranked 11th globally and first among non-OIC destinations in the 2026 Global Muslim Travel Index, published by Mastercard and CrescentRating on June 18. The index, which assessed 150 destinations covering more than 98% of global Muslim visitor arrivals, found that four in five travelers now use AI tools to plan, evaluate, and discover their journeys — a shift that is reshaping how destinations compete for Muslim travel demand.

Malaysia retained the global top spot for the 11th consecutive year, scoring 82. Among non-OIC destinations, Hong Kong climbed to second place, with Taiwan and the UK tied for third.

Singapore has held the top position among non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation destinations in the Global Muslim Travel Index for years — and the 2026 edition confirms it is not giving that ranking up. The city-state scored 72 out of 100, with CrescentRating crediting its halal culinary ecosystem, safety standards, multicultural environment, and smart destination infrastructure. Malaysia leads the full global table with a score of 82, a position it has now held for eleven consecutive years.

The more consequential finding for the travel industry sits alongside the rankings: 80% of travelers now use AI tools at some stage of trip planning. That figure, drawn from the same GMTI report, signals a structural change in how destinations get discovered — and how quickly a well-positioned city can pull demand away from competitors that haven’t made their services machine-readable.

Asia remains the center of gravity for Muslim travel, recording nearly 128 million Muslim arrivals at a 20.8% market penetration rate. South-East Asia in particular has emerged as a primary travel corridor in 2026, driven by proximity to major source markets, strong air connectivity, and established halal ecosystems. Indonesia rose three places to share second globally with Turkey and Saudi Arabia, each scoring 79.

What the 2026 GMTI rankings actually show

The index is not a traveler review platform — it is a structured assessment of destination readiness across halal food access, prayer facilities, accommodation, airport services, and communications. A score of 72 for Singapore reflects measurable infrastructure, not sentiment. That distinction matters because it is exactly the kind of structured, verifiable data that AI planning tools can surface to a traveler who types “Muslim-friendly city break in Asia.”

Mastercard’s Aisha Islam, senior vice-president of the South-East Asia customer solutions centre, framed the commercial imperative directly: destinations and businesses need to make trusted information, secure payments, and Muslim-friendly services easier to discover and act on as AI becomes more embedded in planning. That is not a soft observation — it is a description of where the competitive gap is opening.

The Mastercard 2024 GMTI press release confirmed Singapore had led non-OIC destinations for nine consecutive years at that point, citing Muslim-friendly infrastructure and amenities as the consistent differentiators. The 2026 report extends that run. For travelers planning flights to Singapore, the practical implication is a destination that has invested in the infrastructure — not just the marketing.

Why AI changes the competitive map for destinations

The 80% AI adoption figure is the number destinations should be losing sleep over. When a traveler asks an AI planner for a Muslim-friendly city break, the tool does not browse brochures — it pulls from structured data: verified halal restaurant listings, mapped prayer locations, hotel attributes tagged in booking systems, and transit information formatted for machine consumption. Destinations that have invested in making that data consistent and accessible get surfaced. Those that haven’t, don’t.

Governments and tourism boards control much of that metadata through official portals and accreditation programs, while hotels and restaurants supply the commercial layer. The incentive is direct: better structured data means more visibility in AI search results, and that visibility can shift traveler demand before a fare search even begins. This dynamic is already visible in how Trip.com Group is repositioning its platform — the company has signaled that AI recommendation layers will increasingly surface destinations and experiences by traveler profile rather than raw keyword input, a shift that rewards destinations with clean, verifiable data.

The volatility angle in the 2026 GMTI adds another layer. Rising fuel costs, geopolitical tensions, and airspace disruptions are pushing travelers toward closer, more predictable destinations — what the report calls “home-continent mobility.” South-East Asia benefits structurally from that shift, and Singapore, sitting at the center of the region’s air network, is positioned to capture demand that might otherwise have flowed to longer-haul OIC destinations.

What this means if you’re planning a trip

The GMTI rankings and the AI planning shift are live demand signals — destinations are already adjusting their digital infrastructure in response, which means the quality of information available to travelers is improving in real time.

• Use the GMTI score as a baseline, not a guarantee. A score of 72 for Singapore reflects assessed infrastructure — halal dining, prayer facilities, airport services — but individual listings change. Cross-check against the Singapore Tourism Board’s official halal directory before booking restaurants or hotels.
• Verify AI-generated itinerary claims independently. AI planning tools can surface Singapore’s Muslim-friendly credentials quickly, but they pull from indexed data that may lag real-world changes. Confirm prayer room availability and halal certification directly with hotels and venues before paying.
• Consider South-East Asia’s regional connectivity advantage. The GMTI’s “home-continent mobility” finding is practical: Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore are tightly connected by short-haul flights, making multi-destination itineraries within the region more viable and less exposed to long-haul disruption risk.
• Check Mastercard and CrescentRating’s GMTI updates for new halal-friendly listings and destination score changes before finalizing bookings — the index is updated annually and rankings do shift.

Watch: The next Mastercard-CrescentRating GMTI release — expected in 2027 — will confirm whether Singapore holds its non-OIC lead and whether the AI adoption rate continues climbing. If Singapore Tourism Board or major OTAs add verified halal and prayer-space filters in 2026–2027, it signals that Muslim-friendly travel search is becoming genuinely bookable rather than just discoverable.

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