Abu Dhabi, (IINA) – There are eight countries from the Middle East and Africa in the top 10 destinations in the global Muslim travel market, according to The MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2016, which covers 130 destinations, Business Review Middle East reported.

GMTI ranks countries on criteria including facilities provided, suitability for family holidays, connectivity and visa restrictions.

The study also revealed that in 2015 there were an estimated 117 million Muslim visitor arrivals globally, representing close to 10 percent of the entire travel market. With a forecast that this will grow to 168 million visitors by 2020 with a value exceeding $200 billion. In fact, it is one of the fastest growing segments in the global travel industry.

Commenting on the results, President of Middle East and Africa, MasterCard Raghu Malhotra, said: “We are pleased to see eight countries from the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region occupying top places in GMTI 2016. These rankings highlight the MEA region’s strong focus on consistently answering the needs of the fast-growing Muslim travel market, especially since this is one of the key sectors driving greater economic development across the region and is expected to contribute significantly to the long-term tourism growth strategies of these countries.”

The eight Middle East and African countries that ranked in the top 10 are: United Arab Emirates with a score of 74.7, Turkey 73.9, Qatar 70.5, Saudi Arabia 70.4, Oman with a score of 70.3, Morocco 68.3, Jordan 65.4 and Bahrain with a score of 63.3.