The Department of Tourism (DoT) in the Philippines hopes Middle East visitor arrivals will continue to grow, alongside the expansion of halal offerings in the Philippines and improved air connectivity with the region.

The department stated on Tuesday that Tourism Secretary Maria Esperanza Christina G. Frasco met with 90 travel industry representatives from the Middle East during the Arabian Travel Market 2024 event in Dubai earlier this week.

Frasco noted that the Philippines and the Middle East share common Islamic influences, and highlighted that the Philippines was recognised as an emerging Muslim-friendly destination at the Halal in Travel Awards 2023, Reuters reports.

“Since then, we have eyed this niche market by strategically developing our halal tourism portfolio, offering halal-certified dining, increasing halal accreditations, and conducting halal awareness orientations,” she added.

International arrivals from key source markets in the Middle East have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, with Qatar seeing a 547.97% increase from 2019. Arrivals from the UAE and Kuwait have also risen significantly, up 419% and 130%, respectively, from the last full year before international travel restrictions were imposed, the Tourism Secretary stated.

Furthermore, the DoT is working in conjunction with the private and public sectors to boost air connectivity.

“Being an archipelagic nation that can only be reached via air, unless you take a cruise, we have worked hard with the Department of Transportation as well as our partners in the private sector to really increase inbound connectivity,” Frasco added.

The DoT also stated that the Muslim travel market is set to make a significant contribution to the global tourism industry's growth, with a forecast expenditure of $225 billion by 2028.

Moreover, the department announced that the Tourism Promotions Board aims to exceed the sales leads generated in 2023 during this year's Arabian Travel Market. In 2023, the Philippine delegation secured over P1 billion in leads.