DoT to tap into Muslim tourism

The Department of Tourism (DOT) said it is aiming to capture a chunk of 108 million Muslim travelers worldwide by implementing a strategy of establishing Muslimfriendly establishments in the country, particularly in Palawan. DOT Assistant Secretary Eden Josephine David said they are promoting a program dubbed “Muslim Friendly Tourism”. Part of this, she explained, is that tourism establishments in the province needs to be “capacitated” and facilities should made available for nonChristian considering that majority of Palawan’s neighboring countries are Muslim. “Because these are the ASEAN gateways and because there are also the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMPEAGA) destinations. We acknowledge the fact that these are the areas that will be visited mostly by our Muslim tourists,” she said recently during the Halal Business Opportunities and Training Needs Assessment Workshop. Muslim-Friendly Tourism is a program of DOT that currently focusing on six pilot areas including Cebu, National Capital Region (NCR), Davao, amboanga, Cotabato and Palawan. David explained that hotel services and other establishment should cater to the Muslim culture. “We need to capacitate our stakeholders. So, most important of these are the kind of facilities that are available for our brothers and sisters, particularly the restaurant and kitchens where they can eat and be assured that foods are Halal,” she said. David added that top tourists destination like Palawan should be ready for this market, considering that there are available certified Halal foods, pointing out that there should be a separate kitchen and utensils for them. “We would like Palawan to be ready for this kind of market. Very important is the food aspect. We want to ensure that they are taking Halal food,” she said. She added that hotels and other accommodations should made available rooms, mats and directional signs for praying.