For the second year in a row, a worldwide travel index has recognized the Philippines as a "Emerging Muslim-friendly destination," by the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2024, according to the Department of Tourism.
The announcement was made at the Halal in Travel Global Summit in Singapore, with the award for Emerging Muslim-Friendly Non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Nation also given during the event.
The Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index, an annual report that compares travel destinations in the Muslim travel market, was used to determine the Philippines' performance in 2024. Using this data, the country developed initiatives like adding halal food and Muslim-friendly amenities to popular tourist destinations.
Promoting Halal tourism
The Philippines is concentrating on "building capacity to welcome tourists through various initiatives," according to the GMTI.
“Tourism authorities have placed Halal tourism high on their priority agenda, evidenced by their action to enhance the Halal tourism portfolio and raise awareness among tourism stakeholders about the values and practices important to Muslim travelers,” the GMTI said.
According to Mastercard, the Philippines' communications score has improved from 2023.
“Among non-OIC destinations, the Philippines has steadily increased its appeal to Muslim tourists by strategically developing their Halal Tourism portfolio, enhancing halal accreditation of hotels and restaurants, and conducting Halal awareness orientations,” the payment services firm said.
“This effort builds on their achievement of winning the Emerging Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year award in last year’s Halal in Travel Global Summit, based on GMTI 2023 results,” it added.
More muslim-friendly establishments
After receiving the citation, DOT secretary Christina Frasco pledged to advance halal tourism and Muslim-friendly spaces.
“By prioritizing this, we not only demonstrate our commitment to inclusivity and cultural sensitivity but also open up opportunities to attract more Muslim travelers from around the world, while expanding markets for our tourism stakeholders and creating more livelihood and employment for our fellow Filipinos,” she said.
The DOT and Megaworld Hotels and Resorts inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the fringes of the most recent Arabian Travel Mart 2024, pledging all of their establishments to be Muslim-friendly. In April of this year, the Philippines and Qatar also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen collaboration in the areas of mutual development and the expansion of business and tourism events.
The recently adopted National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023 to 2028 lists halal tourism, which came from the Arabic word “halal,” or “permissible,” as a priority product.
