The Tour Groups Empowering Muslim Women Travelers—and Fostering Community

22.03.2024 - 22:53 / cntraveler.com

For many practicing Muslim women, finding the right hotel and booking excursions is just one part of planning a vacation. There’s also the search for halal or vegetarian restaurants, pinning mosques with a women’s prayer space to Google Maps, and researching whether a destination is safe for them not just as women, but oftentimes as visibly Muslim women if they wear a hijab or niqab, or want to don a burkini.

For years, Muslim women wanting to travel have done this all themselves, without the help of travel and tour companies that cater to their non-Muslim peers. That despite there being a huge demand: According to the Mastercard-Crescentrating Global Muslim Travel Index 2023, Muslim women “make up a substantial portion of the global Muslim travel market,” citing a growing trend for “solo and women group travel” in particular.

“Muslim women are looking to travel with a group of like-minded women where they can feel catered to in terms of having time to pray, eat halal food, feel comfortable wearing hijab if they do, and visit local mosques when traveling,” says Ellie Quinn Belhaj, a travel blogger based in Manchester, England.

But while some Muslim women may have additional requirements while on vacation, notes Belhaj, they are also after all the same things as other travelers: “Muslim women want to hike, dive, and explore cities like everyone else.”

In recent years, a number of independent travel companies founded by Muslim women have sprung up to fill this gap in the market, all seeking to make travel easier—especially for those who grew up in cultures where women traveling alone may not be the norm or might not have the confidence to start off solo immediately. Tour operator The Muslim Women’s Travel Group offers exciting trips while also making sure religious needs don’t have to be cast aside. Founder Sadia Ramzan says she wants to “enable women to explore the world safely [while] respecting their beliefs and values.”

Later this year The Muslim Women’s Travel Group will head to Japan, where temples, a kimono-dressing and dance experience, and a tea ceremony are on the itinerary. Another trip planner, Sisters Getaway, offers retreats complete with yoga and creative writing sessions that are interspersed with excursions. Muslim hiking and adventure group The Wanderlust Women’s summer 2024 Pakistan trip will include seeing the Batura Glacier and a community day in the mountains. In Uzbekistan later this year, tour operator Halal Travel Guide has programmed activities including Islamic calligraphy and walking tours.

A traveler on a Sisters Getaway trip

Regardless of what the itinerary may have in store, travelers pause what they’re doing five times a day so whoever wants to can pray. They don’t have