16 Philippines Restaurants Now Halal-Certified, Muslim Travel Guide Up Next — DOT

Halal-conscious travelers, both local and foreign, no longer need to worry about thinking where to eat when they visit the Philippines.

This will be the mindset of Muslim travelers now that a total of 16 establishments—resorts, hotels and restaurants have received halal-certification from Department of Tourism (DOT) and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) on Thursday.

While 16 establishments have so far received their halal-certification from the DOT and NCMF, there are 43 establishments in total that applied for certification.

Initially, establishments from Manila, Cebu, Davao and Boracay have expressed their interest to apply for halal-certification but other cities namely Bohol, Caraga, Soccskargen and Zamboanga have opted in.

The 16 halal-certified establishments include Berjaya Hotel, Marriott Hotel (Metro Manila), Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, Dusit Thani Manila, Marco Polo Davao, Pearl Farm Beach Resort in Samal Island, Hijo Estate Resorts in Davao, Zabadani restaurant in Davao, FB Hotel in Koronadal, Greenleaf Hotel General Santos, Hotel San Marco General Santos, Villa Margarita Hotel Davao, Tinhat Botique Hotel and Restaurant Davao, Al Sultan Restaurant Davao, Southern Philippines Medical Center Davao, Family Country Inn & Hotel General Santos (Davao).

DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said in his speech during the launch that the department is looking at having have 60-70 applicants for halal-certification by the end of May.

He described the unveiling of halal-certified restaurants as being a success in terms of having created an awareness and halal consciousness.

“Why is this important? Because it’s a given in the Filipino culture that the best and most important welcome to our visitor is with food and if you are not halal-certified, which is a very important segment of the society in the world, you are not extending a proper welcome,” Jimenez said.

“We are here today because we fulfill our mandate and our nature as Filipino to make our brand of welcome,” he added.

Aside from launching more halal-certified restaurants, the DOT in cooperation with the globally recognized independent rating and accreditation standard for Muslim-friendly travel services, Crescent Rating is expected to launch a Muslim Visitors Guide to the Philippines during the World Global Halal Congress in Turkey next month.

“We will include the list of mosques, cultural centers, slaughter houses in the guide. Of course, traditional sights and attractions from each destinations that should be made available for Halal conscious traveler will be there, too,” Boncato said.

“The guide will answer the questions How to get there? How much you need to spend? What to be aware of? Since we are not Muslim predominant country, we have to explain it to Muslim travelers,” he added.

DOT meanwhile aims to acquire a 10 percent increase in travelers coming from the Muslim market following the launch of more halal-certified restaurants.

“We hope we get about a 10 to 13 percent increase for this year from those markets,” DOT Assistant Secretary Arturo Boncato Jr. said.

As for receipts, DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said that the goal is to acquire at least 10 percent of the total tourism generated income from Muslim travelers from Southeast Asia, which constitutes to roughly 20 to 25 percent of the global halal market.

“It is reckoned that Southeast Asia is good for at least 20 to 25 percent of the global halal market, that’s roughly USD50 billion a year that we can be a part of. If I get only 10 percent of that, that is twice the income we have now,” Jimenez said. (PNA) BNB/ANP