The city was the first U.S. tourism organization to build a dedicated Muslim-traveler resource. Four years on, halal travel is a standing line in national destination strategy — and the fastest-growing segment in international tourism.
New York City Tourism + Conventions has released an updated edition of its Halal Travel Guide, a Muslim-traveler resource the city first published in 2022.
The guide was produced with CrescentRating and HalalTrip, the two organizations that effectively set the standards framework for the halal travel category. It covers halal dining, prayer facilities, accommodation and cultural attractions across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, and the current edition adds a five-day itinerary built for Muslim visitors. It is available at nycgo.com/HalalTravelGuide in English and Arabic.
First mover, four years in
New York was the first U.S. tourism organization to publish a dedicated resource for Muslim travelers. The original English guide launched in May 2022. An Arabic edition followed in October 2022.
The Arabic launch was not a domestic announcement. It was released during a Middle East sales mission running October 23–28, 2022 through Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where a delegation of five New York tourism partners met regional travel agents and tour operators. The city built the asset and distributed it through the trade in the source markets — the standard playbook for a segment a destination intends to hold rather than test.
Julie Coker, president and chief executive of New York City Tourism + Conventions, said the guide reflects the city's commitment to welcoming Muslim travelers from around the world. Raudha Zaini, head of operations at CrescentRating and HalalTrip, said the resource strengthens the city's appeal in the segment.
A segment growing faster than the market
Mastercard and CrescentRating put Muslim international travel arrivals at roughly 186 million in 2025, projected to reach about 245 million by 2030 — a growth rate that outpaces most conventional tourism categories. The broader halal economy spans food, finance, fashion and lifestyle services.
New York's inventory advantage is structural. The city's materials cite more than 275 mosques across the five boroughs, more than any other U.S. metropolitan area, and nearly 400 years of Muslim community presence. A 2015 census by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding counted 285 mosques across the boroughs — Brooklyn 98, Queens 93, the Bronx 47, Manhattan 39, Staten Island 8. Roughly a quarter of American Muslims live in the New York metro area.
What no destination marketing organization can currently report is whether any of it survives the retrieval layer.
Travelers increasingly open trip planning inside an AI engine rather than a destination website. No public data exists on whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Perplexity cite the city's guide when a traveler asks about halal dining or prayer facilities in New York — in English or in Arabic. None of the model providers publish query volume by language, and no published study has tested whether the answers diverge between the two.
For a city that has spent four years building and translating the asset, that is the open question in the file.
Mastercard–CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index
Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, 2015 mosque census
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the New York City Halal Travel Guide?
A free resource from New York City Tourism + Conventions covering halal dining, prayer facilities, accommodation and cultural attractions across the five boroughs. It is available in English and Arabic at nycgo.com/HalalTravelGuide.
When did New York City first publish a halal travel guide?
May 2022 in English, followed by an Arabic edition in October 2022. New York was the first U.S. tourism organization to publish a dedicated Muslim-traveler resource.
How large is the Muslim travel market?
Mastercard and CrescentRating estimate roughly 186 million Muslim international travel arrivals in 2025, projected to reach about 245 million by 2030.
How many mosques are in New York City?
New York City's tourism materials cite more than 275 mosques across the five boroughs. A 2015 census by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding counted 285. Both figures place New York ahead of any other U.S. metropolitan area.
Who produced the guide with the city?
CrescentRating and HalalTrip, the halal travel standards and ratings organizations.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
