DAVAO CITY—The Department of Tourism (DOT) has assured food and accommodation establishments they do not have to pay certification fees if they adapt halal food-preparation practices, promising a windfall of benefits to the untapped multibillion-dollar revenues from traveling Muslims.
Tourism Assistant Secretary Arturo P. Boncato Jr. said the fees were “significant” for these establishments, accrued mostly from bringing in consultants and certifying experts from Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia, and services and professional fees.
“Minus these certification fees, these establishments would have additional budget for the needs of their kitchen, from the fixtures to utensils,” he said, as he clarified that “what we are certifying are the kitchens of these establishments, where halal food preparations take place.”
There are now 60 establishments awaiting certification. Boncato said some of them are already among the big leagues in the accommodation and food industry, and include hotels, restaurants with a chain of stores nationwide, hospitals and entertainment joints.
Among them are the Marco Polo Hotel, which belongs to the chain of Asian hotels; the Southern Philippine Medical Center, the largest government hospital outside of the Philippine General Hospital; the upscale Pearl Farm Resort on the Island Garden City of Samal; and Villa Margarita, a small but upscale inn.
The certification has taken them to the tourism destinations of Bohol, Boracay, Caraga, Cebu, Davao, Manila, Soccsksargen and Zamboanga City.
“Now, we are going to Palawan and Baguio,” he added.
DOT officials also recently visited the Middle Eastern destinations of Riyadh and Dubai to announce the readiness of the country to offer halal food preparations for Muslim businessmen and travelers.
“Right after my presentation, a group of big media companies with features on travel and tourism approached me to say how they appreciate the move of our government to provide halal establishments,” he said. Boncato also presented here the potential destinations in Mindanao to executives of foreign and local airline companies.
He said Middle Eastern travelers are aware of the nice spots in the country, “but they were not keen on promoting them because of the lack of halal restaurants and food joints that cater to Muslim travelers.”
Next week the tourism promotion team of the Philippine Halal Tourism Program will go to Turkey to make another pitch for the Philippines during the annual halal international conference. Turkey is the seat of the halal-certifying body recognized by the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
“Our secretary expressed the hope that the recent gains of the Philippines being recognized as a desired Muslim destination would be continued by the next administration,” he said.