Halal Friendly Travel To Be Addressed At The 6th World Halal Forum In Kuala Lumpur

Online, March 1, 2011 (Newswire.com) - With the growth of Muslim travellers forecasted to outpace the growth of other travel segments, Halal Friendly Travel market is increasingly becoming a key segment for the travel industry. According to Fazal Bahardeen, the CEO of Crescentrating, this segment of travellers is already spending close to USD 100 billion a year, a figure which is expected to grow to USD 200 billion by 2020.

The Singapore-based Crescentrating is a pioneer in developing the Halal Friendly Travel segment. It focuses on rating of travel services for Halal friendliness and providing a wide range of services and information to Muslim travellers through its website and social media channels.

World Halal Forum is the premier Global Halal industry event held annually in Kuala Lumpur. The 6th edition of the Forum will take place on the 4th and 5th of April 2011 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, under the theme "Towards a Halal Economy - The power of values in Global Markets". Fazal Bahardeen will address the Forum on the "Rise of Halal Friendly Travel".

"The importance of catering to Muslim travellers is becoming increasingly recognised by the Travel and Tourism industry all over the world. It is an expanding sector in the Halal marketplace, and we expect it to remain a strong growth sector over the coming years. Crescentrating is one of the real pioneers in this sector that is contributing positively to nurturing this growth" said Abdalhamid Evans, Director of World Halal Forum.

After the successful inaugural event in 2010, the second edition of the Sri Lanka Halal Conference and Exhibition will take place in Colombo on the 12th and 13th of March. Fazal Bahardeen is scheduled to chair the event and will also share his insights on "Halal Friendly Travel" with the travel industry leaders in Sri Lanka at the conference.

Rozana Rauff, CEO and Director of UTO EduConsult, the company hosting the event, said "Building on the success of last year's event, the 2nd edition is expected to witness larger participation. This has been quite evident from the large number of sponsors and exhibitors that have already confirmed their participation at what is the only event of its kind to be held in Sri Lanka. With the end of the conflict in 2009, Sri Lanka is fast becoming a tourism "hot spot" and, interestingly, is also increasingly seen as a Halal friendly destination"