CrescentRating is a Singapore-based research organization that researches Halal travel.

Overview

CrescentRating researches Halal travel and publishes related rankings. It was founded by Fazal Bahardeen and is based in Singapore.

History

Founded in 2008 in Singapore by Fazal Bahardeen who identified a need in the tourism sector for better accommodation of Muslim travelers. Initially, the company focused on rating establishments based on their compatibility with Muslim requirements. Later, it expanded its services by introducing online platforms such as HalalTrip and the Muslim Travel Warehouse in 2015. Between 2011 and 2014 CrescentRating released an annual list of countries ranked by their accommodations for Muslim travelers. This project collaborated with Mastercard in 2015, becoming the

Global Muslim Travel Index The Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) is a travel index that ranks countries based on their performance in the Muslim travel market. The index is published by CrescentRating in collaboration with MasterCard. History The Global Muslim Travel Inde ...

. In August 2013 CrescentRating launched a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

called Crescent Trips, designed to notify Muslims of prayer times and the direction to face during prayers. In December 2013 CrescentRating introduced HalalTrip.com, a website for Muslim travelers that featured an international directory of halal restaurants and

city guide A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

s. Later, in 2015, CrescentRating released a mobile app for the HalalTrip website. In April 2016 CrescentRating began collaborating with the Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) to promote halal tourism in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. In 2023 CrescentRating's Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) report introduced a new tool that gives details on Muslim Women Friendly Destinations. CrescentRating also provides training to tourism and hotel boards and collaborates with organizations such as IE Singapore and the city of Fukuoka, Japan on research projects. Over the years, CrescentRating has conducted multiple research studies and published guidebooks. Notable studies include a study for the

Organization of Islamic Cooperation The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of 57 member states, 48 of which are Muslim-majority. The Pew Forum on ...

(OIC), another in collaboration with the Singapore Center for Studies in Innovation, Productivity and Technology and

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

, a study on halal dining, and a guidebook specifically for Muslim tourists visiting Jeju Island in South Korea. CrescentRating also hosts the Halal in Travel Awards annually.

References

{{reflist Market research companies Service companies of Singapore Technology companies established in 2008 Singaporean companies established in 2008 Religious tourism