𝗗𝗢𝗧, 𝗚𝗧𝗕𝗔 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆’𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗺-𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗺-𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺

Cebu City- The Department of Tourism (DOT), in partnership with the Global Tourism Business Association Inc. (GTBA), hosted the 2nd Halal and Muslim-Friendly Tourism Forum on Wednesday (July 16) at Seda Hotel in Cebu City.

The event aimed to strengthen initiatives that make the Philippines a more accommodating destination for Muslim travelers through stakeholder collaboration and strategic partnerships.

A key highlight of the forum was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and GTBA President Michelle Taylan which reaffirmed the shared commitment to advancing Halal and Muslim-friendly tourism.

In her keynote address, Secretary Frasco highlighted the need for respectful and inclusive tourism, drawing from Cebu’s history: “𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 500 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯, 𝘓𝘢𝘱𝘶-𝘓𝘢𝘱𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘺𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺—𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮-𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮—𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘐𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴.”

Secretary Frasco also emphasized tourism’s vital role in national development, noting that the industry accounted for 8.9 percent of the Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024, directly generated 6.75 million jobs and supported nearly 10 million more indirectly.

Furthermore, as a proud Cebuana, the tourism chief underscored the importance of unity (panaghiusa) and hope (paglaum) in shaping inclusive and community-driven tourism. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴—𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘶𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘮—𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮—𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦,” Secretary Frasco added.

Meanwhile, GTBA President Michelle Taylan echoed Secretary Frasco’s message, emphasizing that the forum was not simply a gathering of stakeholders, but a celebration of diversity and unity. “𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘉𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮-𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴,” she said.

Among the distinguished guests who joined the forum were Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Dato Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino; Indonesian Ambassador H.E. Agus Widjojo; Cambodian Ambassador H.E. Sin Saream; Brunei Darussalam Ambassador H.E. Megawati Dato Paduka Haji Manan; and Lao PDR Ambassador H.E. Sonexay Vannaxay. The gathering aimed to explore policy directions, deepen international cooperation, and identify opportunities to further promote Halal and Muslim-friendly tourism in the country.

Also in attendance were DOT Undersecretaries Shahlimar Hofer Tamano, Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakar, and Ferdinand Jumapao; Assistant Secretaries Judilyn Quiachon and Ronald Conopio; Region VII Regional Director Judy Dela Cruz Gabato; and Director Alven Talisic.