Only 35% fully trust AI recommendations, yet 91% use them anyway
As Muslim travelers increasingly turn to artificial intelligence to navigate a world of 150 destinations, Singapore has risen to the top of non-Muslim countries deemed welcoming and accessible — a distinction that reflects not only the city-state's deliberate hospitality infrastructure but also the growing power of digital systems to shape where people go and why. The Global Muslim Travel Index, released by Mastercard and CrescentRating in mid-2026, arrives at a moment when 80% of Muslim travelers are using AI tools to plan their journeys, yet fewer than half fully trust what those tools tell them. This tension — between the convenience of algorithmic guidance and the fragility of its accuracy — sits at the heart of a transformation still finding its footing.
- AI has moved from novelty to necessity in travel planning, with four in five Muslim travelers now using it to search destinations and build itineraries — a shift happening faster than the technology's reliability can keep pace.
- Trust is the fault line: only 35% of travelers fully believe AI recommendations, and the phenomenon of AI 'hallucinations' — confidently wrong information — has already led to broken itineraries and costly post-booking surprises.
- The distortion runs deeper than individual errors; algorithms tend to amplify the already-famous, threatening to flood popular attractions while rendering smaller hotels and emerging destinations effectively invisible.
- Industry leaders like Mastercard's Aisha Islam are pressing destinations and businesses to make verified, Muslim-friendly information discoverable within AI systems before the technology cements patterns that are hard to reverse.
- Cautious optimism exists: as businesses improve data-sharing and digital integration, AI planners are expected to grow more accurate — but the industry is navigating an inflection point where the tools are still learning to be trusted.
Singapore has claimed the top spot among non-Muslim destinations for Muslim travelers, according to the annual Global Muslim Travel Index released by Mastercard and CrescentRating in mid-June 2026. The city-state placed 11th overall across 150 assessed destinations — but its lead among non-Islamic countries signals something larger than a ranking: it reflects how profoundly artificial intelligence is now shaping where people choose to travel.
Roughly 80% of Muslim travelers now use AI-powered tools to compare destinations, plan experiences, and build itineraries. The trend is not confined to this demographic — a Klook survey found 91% of travelers globally lean on AI planners. For industry figures like Mastercard's Aisha Islam, this makes it urgent that destinations ensure their services, payment options, and Muslim-friendly offerings are accurately represented within these systems.
But adoption has outrun trust. A Booking.com survey found 91% of respondents hold concerns about AI, and only 35% fully trust its recommendations. The culprit is accuracy: AI systems can generate false information that reads as credible, leading travelers into broken itineraries and expensive mistakes discovered only after booking.
The consequences may extend well beyond individual trips. Observers warn that AI risks concentrating tourism in already-crowded places while smaller operators and lesser-known destinations — those with thinner digital footprints — go unnoticed by algorithms that favor the familiar. The technology could inadvertently redraw the map of global tourism in ways nobody planned.
Still, the outlook is not without hope. As businesses improve data integration and real-time information sharing, AI travel tools are expected to become more dependable. For now, the industry stands at an uncertain threshold: the technology is powerful enough to reshape travel, but not yet reliable enough to be fully believed.
Singapore has emerged as the most attractive non-Muslim destination for Muslim travelers, according to Mastercard and CrescentRating's annual Global Muslim Travel Index released in mid-June. The city-state, which The Economist ranked as the world's second-richest country by GDP per capita in 2025, placed 11th overall among 150 destinations assessed in the study—destinations that collectively account for more than 98% of Muslim visitor arrivals globally. What's notable is not just Singapore's ranking, but what it signals about how travelers are now planning their trips: increasingly through artificial intelligence.
Around 80% of Muslim travelers are now using AI-powered tools to search for destinations, compare options, and plan their experiences. The shift is not unique to this demographic. A March survey by the travel platform Klook found that 91% of travelers worldwide rely on AI travel planners to choose where to go, build itineraries, and hunt for deals. The technology has become so embedded in the travel industry that Aisha Islam, senior vice-president of Mastercard's Southeast Asia customer solutions center, framed it as an imperative for destinations and businesses: they need to ensure that trusted information, secure payment options, and Muslim-friendly services are discoverable and actionable within these AI systems.
Yet the rapid adoption masks a deeper problem. Trust in AI recommendations remains fragile. A Booking.com survey found that 91% of respondents harbor concerns about artificial intelligence, and only 35% fully trust its recommendations. The core issue is accuracy. AI systems are prone to what researchers call hallucinations—generating false or misleading information that reads as credible. For travelers, this can mean broken itineraries, faulty route suggestions, and costly mistakes that unfold only after booking.
The risks extend beyond individual travelers. Industry observers warn that AI could reshape tourism flows in ways no one intended. Smaller hotels and lesser-known destinations with limited online presence may struggle to surface in AI-generated recommendations, while already-famous attractions could face unprecedented overcrowding as algorithms tend to prioritize well-known locations. The technology, in other words, could concentrate tourism in already-popular places while leaving smaller operators and emerging destinations invisible.
There is reason for cautious optimism. Experts expect AI travel planners to become more reliable as businesses improve how they share data and integrate their systems digitally. Real-time information access could reduce errors, sharpen recommendations, and solidify AI's role in travel planning over the coming years. For now, though, the industry sits at an inflection point: AI is reshaping how people plan vacations, but the tools are still learning to be trustworthy.
Notable Quotes
Destinations and businesses need to make trusted information, secure payments and Muslim-friendly services easier to discover and act on as AI becomes more embedded in travel planning.— Aisha Islam, Mastercard Southeast Asia
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Singapore's ranking matter if it's only 11th overall?
Because it's the highest-ranked destination that isn't in a Muslim-majority country. For Muslim travelers looking to go somewhere outside the Islamic world, Singapore is the safest, most welcoming choice they can find.
And AI is driving people there?
AI is driving people everywhere—but yes, it's shaping which destinations get discovered and recommended. If an AI system doesn't know about a small guesthouse in a lesser-known city, that city doesn't exist to the traveler.
So the technology is concentrating tourism?
Potentially, yes. AI tends to amplify what's already popular because that's what has the most data, the most reviews, the most visibility online. Unknown places stay unknown.
But people don't fully trust AI anyway, right?
Right. Only 35% trust it. But they're using it anyway—91% of travelers worldwide. There's a gap between what people do and what they believe in.
What happens if an AI gives you bad information about a destination?
You could book a hotel that doesn't exist, plan a route that doesn't work, arrive somewhere unprepared. The stakes are real, even if the error feels abstract.
Can this be fixed?
Yes, if businesses share better data and AI systems get access to real-time information. But that requires coordination across an industry that's still figuring out how to trust the technology itself.