Marketing Europe to Islamic heritage tourists

The Pew Research Center has estimated that by 2060, the number of Muslims worldwide will be equal to approximately 30% of the total global population. Furthermore, as global populations gain more expendable income, travelling, especially internationally, becomes more common. Therefore, Islamic tourists can be understood as a growing market segment. This chapter defines and discusses a sub-segment of this group, referred to here as Islamic heritage tourists. This newly defined sub-group can be seen as a potentially profitable new market for European destinations with a history of Islamic rule. However, it should not be assumed that this tourist segment behaves in the same way as non-Islamic heritage tourists. This chapter presents the findings of an analysis of current national tourism websites for a variety of countries, and only one country, Spain, markets itself to Islamic tourists in general. It is concluded that there is potential for Islamic heritage tourism in Europe, but significantly more work needs to be done in order to market appropriately to them.