Hanoi, July 30 -- Thailand remains one of the world's leading destinations for Muslim travellers but needs to strengthen its Muslim-friendly tourism ecosystem to stay competitive as rival destinations step up efforts to capture the fast-growing market, a local insider has said. According to the Bangkok Post, the 2026 Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) by CrescentRating and Mastercard ranked Thailand fifth among destinations outside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), down from second place during the 2015-2019 period. Fazal Bahardeen, chief executive of CrescentRating and HalalTrip, said the decline reflected stronger competition rather than Thailand losing ground, as other destinations accelerated efforts to attract Muslim trav...