American Muslim travelers: more than halal food, hajj, & hijabs
Halfway through my fellowship in CUNY JSchool’s Entrepreneurial Journalism program, I’m feeling validated about my hunches that young Muslims outside the Gulf are an untapped market for the travel industry in two ways: First, we young Muslims want travel recommendations that reflect our perspectives, but traditional guides written by white, non-Muslims for a non-Muslim audience don’t speak to us. Second, we want to connect with other Muslim travelers, with whom we’re likely to share similar experiences and cultural values.
According to Ogilvy Noor, the Muslim marketing arm of global agency Ogilvy & Mather, 98% of American Muslims surveyed said they felt ignored by American brands — that they “don’t actively reach out to Muslim consumers.” What’s more, 86% of respondents said they believe American brands “need to make more of an effort to understand Muslim values.”
Why should the travel industry care to cater to American Muslims, who make up only 2% of the US population? For one, this very green market has a lot of green: American Muslims have $170 billion in spending power, with 66% of us earning over $50,000 (compared to the US average income of $42,000), and 26% earning over $100,000.
More interestingly, 80% of American Muslims surveyed by Ogilvy Noor said that they would prefer to buy brands that support Muslim identity.
This brand loyalty from American Muslims is important for travel (or any) industry marketers to pay attention to, because we are predominantly young, highly plugged-in, and internationally connected. We are highly likely to not only advocate for your brand at home in America, but globally as well.
Almost 75% of our respondents want brands to “make Muslims feel like an integral part of the wider community, not a marginal group.” American Muslim consumers feel a deep need for inclusion in the fabric of American life, especially in such troubled times, and believe that brands and corporate America have a responsibility towards promoting that inclusivity.”
“How Far Has the Market Progressed for American Muslim Consumers?” — Ogilvy Noor
And who could be more concerned with their identities than young American Muslims in the post-9/11 era?
The 15-to-35-year age subset of this group — referred to as Muslim Futurists — are particularly eager for brands to communicate to them in a truly relevant way. They are young, tech-savvy, brand conscious, worldly and vocal. They feel connected to a multinational audience through their part in the Ummah, the global Muslim nation. They believe in combining the best of modernity and American lifestyles with their faith. More than half the world’s Muslim population self-identifies in this way, and that number is higher in the U.S. They don’t want to be pandered to but rather understood, included and communicated with.
“Why Brands Can’t Afford to Ignore the US Muslim Consumer” — Campaign
More and more, travelers are seeking out the recommendations of those they trust—and for young American Muslim travelers, that means people we identify with. Not only do we want online recommendations from travelers who share similar cultural upbringings and experiences of marginalization, we want to connect offline and build friendships with them too. For example, as a dark-skinned woman who has traveled in Lebanon, where routine discrimination of South Asian and African migrant laborers has led to a culture of racial superiority among Lebanese Arabs, I’d want to share my experience (which was actually without incident), and hear from others about theirs.
There are dozens of other perspectives and issues that come up for Muslim and non-white travelers, but contrary to what stock images and Muslim travel websites portray, it’s not all about halal food, hajj, and hijabs.
Most global brands and marketers have not gone out of their way to examine Muslims in depth. They have shied away from addressing Muslims or taking them into account--except at a local level and with products dictated by pure adherence to religious dictates and practices: halal meats; Sharia-compliant (i.e., non-interest-bearing) financial products; and “modest” dress, including the traditional hijab head covering for women.
Some of us want to know where gay Muslims in Dubai socialize. For others, it has nothing to do with religion. Some of us would be surprised and delighted to know there’s an ashram in India where you can meditate AND go surfing with swamis.
We’re sick of our homelands being synonymous with violence and intolerance and want to share with others the pleasure we had at a Turkish bath house in Gaza recently, or how Ottoman rule in the early 1900s forced many Lebanese to migrate to Mexico and introduce the shawarma, now known as tacos al pastor.
Currently, a lot of travel tip sharing and planning is happening privately, in WhatsApp groups, closed Facebook groups, and email listservs. But the closed networks don’t easily allow for looping in outsiders, and they are severely lacking links to references.
The more I’ve been following the discussions about travel in my community, asking them questions, and researching marketing studies, the more I’m convinced of the need for an open-source, conversation-driven community centered around mindful travel, with the aim of increasing the visibility and diversity of young Muslims.
Travel Moor is the only place that paves the way for young Muslims to have these conversations openly and be inclusive of non-Muslims as well. By educating ourselves, we can influence others to engage more meaningfully with the world too.
