ARRIVALS of Muslim travelers in the Philippines slipped by 7.5 percent this year, despite government marketing strategies and a campaign to encourage more hotels to offer halal-friendly services.
Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed there were close to 170,000 Muslim nationalities who arrived from January to September 2025, compared to the 183,615 in the same period last year. The data refers to nationalities of Gulf of Cooperation Countries (GCC) and Muslim-majority countries in Asia. These exclude overseas Filipinos working or living in these countries.
Still, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco claimed an ‘upward trajectory of 10 percent [in Muslim arrivals] this year, and it shows that our strategies to attract Muslim travelers are working.’ She noted that Malaysia was among the top 10 source markets for tourists in the Philippines, along with Indonesia, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, ‘and countries that have Muslim expats.’
While she failed to reveal any hard targets for Muslim arrivals, she said the agency’s strategies in terms of developing halal-friendly products and marketing will ‘hopefully.communicate that the Philippines is open and ready for Muslim travelers.’
Frasco added that several hotels, such as Megaworld Hotels and Resorts Corp. and Robinsons Hotels and Resorts, have already been implementing halal-friendly practices in a bid to boost their Muslim arrivals.
Malaysians are top tourists
The Tourism Infrastructure and Enteprise Zone Authority is also constructing Tourist Rest Areas in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, in Mindanao.
The DOT data showed that from GCC countries, Muslim tourists slipped by 7.89 percent to 26,111 in the nine months to September this year, with the top nationalities as Saudi Arabian at 13,978 (-3.1 percent); Kuwaiti 3,261 (-15.25 percent); Emirati 2,928 (-9.55 percent); Omani 2,580 (-10.1 percent); Bahraini 2,551 (-14.22 percent); and Qatari 813 (-18.31 percent).
From Asia, Muslim arrivals reached 143,676, a 7.47-percent drop from January to September 2024. Of these tourists, the top nationalities were: Malaysian at 75,206 (-3.03 percent); Indonesian 34,655 (-23.8 percent); Turkish 10,479 (-8.89 percent); Bangladeshi 6,877 (+99.49 percent); and Pakistani 4,779 (+6.5 percent).
While the DOT officials could not say why there seemed to be a sizeable increase in Bangladeshi tourists, the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2022 noted the improvement of trade and economic ties between Manila and Dhaka. Specifically, Bangladesh investment in the Philippines reached P36 million in 2022, mainly in the wholesale and retail sectors. Bilateral trade was recorded at US$142.86 million in favor of Bangladesh.
Travel publication launched
This developed as the DOT on Tuesday unveiled a Muslim-Friendly Travelogue of the Philippines, a three-volume publication that provides a practical guide for domestic and international visitors to experience the Philippines ‘in ways that honor faith and culture, reflecting the DOT’s mission to make tourism inclusive, respectful, and authentically Filipino,’ said Frasco.
The travelogue was developed in partnership with the New Perspective Media Group, a UAE-based marketing and PR communications group, which also publishes The Filipino Times.
Frasco said the publication reinforces the growing recognition of the Philippines as one of the rising Muslim-friendly destinations in the world. In this year’s Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) of Mastercard and CrescentRating, the Philippines climbed to eighth place, from 12th in 2024, it the list of top 20 non-OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) countries.
‘It is a guide and a roadmap for welcoming the world with respect, warmth, and understanding. Through the travelogue, visitors will discover historic sites that celebrate our shared heritage, culinary experiences that celebrate our halal and Muslim-friendly offerings and destinations designed to promote comfort, safety, and hospitality for all,’ she added.
Those who attended the travelogue’s launch at the DOT Central Office were Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Malik Melvin Castelino, Brunei Ambassador Megawati Manan, and representatives from the embassies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as those from New Perspective Media.