What is the millennial Muslim traveller like?

Compared to non-Muslim millennials, young Muslim travelers differ in some ways. The greatest differences come from the fact that young Muslims wish to follow the rules and obligations of their faith, Islam. Muslims have to pray five times a day and eat halal (permissible by Islamic law) food. We have the option of combining our daily prayers whilst traveling. This means that instead of five, the prayers are performed three times a day, which leaves us with more time plan our day.

Halal food is another key aspect in Muslim travel, which for some is a dealbreaker when choosing the destination. Muslim-friendly countries are popular destinations due to the fact that halal meat is easily available. Still, halal food may not be so important to some Muslim travelers as they are willing to eat vegetarian or pescetarian food. A lot of Western and Asian hotels, destinations, and airports have started to provide options concerning these demands in an attempt to attract Muslim travelers.

Millennial Muslims are more likely to spend money on businesses catering to them, but that means that the service must also be on point and fulfill the expectations. If a hotel provides for e.g. swimming and gym facilities for women and men separately, it is more likely that this will attract Muslim travelers to stay at their accommodation.

Companies or brands need to understand when catering to Muslims that certain things are a must-have, while others fall under being an extra bonus. Young Muslim travelers are aged between 18-35, educated and cultured, who are transnationals and have most likely lived between two cultures. We are travel enthusiasts who travel a lot and want to see and explore new places within the boundaries of their faith.

We do online researches and read reviews when deciding where to go, and pay close attention to flight and hotel discounts and look for great deals. We are usually budget conscious travelers and are not after luxury holidays or tourist packages. This doesn’t mean that we won’t splurge on things that we find meaningful, such as unique experiences or food.

It is important for us to document our trips by taking lots of photos and sharing them on social media. Smartphones are key to staying connected and finding information and using it for navigation. Free, easy wifi accessibility is a must.

Brands need to cater and begin to view young Muslims as real consumers. Representing millennial Muslims in marketing or promotions are a great way to create brand awareness and loyal customers within the community, It’s important to understand the value of the spending power that this market, which will have a global worth of $200 Bn by 2020.

Including millennial Muslims and representing them in your marketing visuals is a sure way to increase your market share.

By: Hamda Muhumud, Trend Forecaster at Qufi Creative
An expert on market research and trend forecasting. Working at Qufi Creative, a branding agency that helps companies to target millennial Muslims.