Singapore (The Indonesian News) – Indonesia has once again achieved a global milestone, securing second place as the “Muslim-Friendly Destination of The Year” at the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) Awards 2026.
Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Bayu Aji, said this achievement reinforces Indonesia’s increasingly strong position as a competitive Muslim-friendly tourism destination in the world.
“In this year’s ranking, Indonesia successfully rose three places compared to the previous year, when it ranked fifth in 2025,” Bayu Aji said while receiving the award at the Balestier Ballroom, Aloft Singapore Novena, on Thursday (June 18, 2026).
He expressed appreciation to CrescentRating and Mastercard for organizing GMTI 2026 and also conveyed his pride in Indonesia’s improved ranking.
“On behalf of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, I express appreciation to CrescentRating and Mastercard for organizing GMTI 2026. Indonesia has achieved second place as ‘Muslim-Friendly Destination of The Year,’ rising from fifth place last year,” he said.
The GMTI ranking uses the ACES (Access, Communication, Environment, and Services) assessment framework, which comprises 17 indicators. In the Access aspect, the assessment covers connectivity, visa requirements, and transportation infrastructure.
In the Communication aspect, the assessment includes language capability, destination promotion, and the level of stakeholder awareness regarding Muslim-friendly tourism. Meanwhile, the Environment aspect assesses basic utilities, safety, sustainability, and other supporting factors.
In the Services aspect, the indicators assessed include the availability of places of worship or mosques, halal food options, Muslim-friendly facilities at airports, accommodations that support Muslim travelers’ needs, as well as tourism experiences and attractions based on Islamic cultural heritage.
Overall, Indonesia achieved a score of 79, marking its highest achievement since its participation in the GMTI. This improvement reflects Indonesia’s consistency in building an increasingly high-quality, inclusive, and globally competitive Muslim-friendly tourism ecosystem.
This achievement is inseparable from various programs implemented by the Ministry of Tourism, including strengthening halal certification for micro and small business products in tourism villages, developing 15 Muslim-friendly tourism destinations through the Indonesia Muslim Travel Index (IMTI) 2025 in collaboration with Bank Indonesia, strengthening destination promotion through Indonesia.travel, developing guidelines for Muslim-friendly tourism basic services, and formulating technical guidelines for Muslim-friendly tourism destination development.
Bayu Aji is optimistic that Indonesia can continue to improve service quality and competitiveness to reclaim the top position in next year’s GMTI ranking.
“We are optimistic that we can regain the position of ‘Muslim-Friendly Destination of The Year’ next year,” Bayu Aji said.
This achievement serves as encouragement for all stakeholders to continue strengthening collaboration in presenting comfortable, inclusive, and high-quality destinations for Muslim travelers from various countries, while also strengthening the competitiveness of Indonesian tourism in the global market.
Source: Communications Bureau of the Ministry of Tourism
