Building on its rapid rise as a leading destination in the global visitor economy, the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) successfully staged RIHLAH: The First Philippine Halal and Muslim-friendly Tourism Forum in Metro Manila on June 20, 2026. This full-day conference serves as a key follow-through to the DOT’s successful two-year run of the SALAAM: Halal Tourism and Trade Expo and its ongoing four-point agenda on Halal and Muslim-friendly travel.
The forum highlights the Philippines' significant upward momentum, following its climb to the number 5 spot among non-OIC destinations in the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI), where it was formally recognized as a Rising Muslim-Friendly Destination. As the world’s leading authority on Halal travel, CrescentRating was invited to serve as the foundational resource institution to guide local stakeholders.
CrescentRating's Strategic Role: Championing Market Capacity
CrescentRating’s Tawfiq Ikhtianto, the Head of Research and Capacity Building, attended the summit as the principal resource speaker to deliver two tailored masterclasses designed to transform target intent into on-ground delivery:
Morning Session: Muslim-friendly Tourism 101
This module equipped local operators, hoteliers, and regional directors with the essential data layers required to understand the core faith-based needs of modern Muslim travelers. Ikhtianto unpacked traveler demographics, practical culinary verification standards, and daily prayer facility access frameworks.
Afternoon Session: Best Campaigns for Muslim-friendly Tourism
Moving from baseline infrastructure to market activation, this session provided an analysis of highly successful international tourism campaigns. It established benchmarks for the Philippines to successfully market its growing network of Muslim-Friendly Accommodation Establishments (MFAEs) and unique regional attractions using the TRUST Framework (Transparency, Relevant Products, Unwavering Quality, Social Connection, and Thoughtful Rewards), a five-pillar strategy designed to foster long-time loyalty to Muslim visitors.
The Strategic Significance of RIHLAH 2026
The primary objective of the RIHLAH forum was to bridge the gap between national policy and commercial deployment. By bringing together local tourism boards, hotel executives, and development practitioners, the DOT successfully created a unified space to establish actionable benchmarks.
The session focused deeply on:
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Understanding the Muslim Tourist: Overcoming generic travel tropes to map out the personalized behavioral patterns of independent travelers, multi-generational families, and women travelers.
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Curating Travel Destinations: Transitioning standard leisure corridors into values-aligned spaces that support faith-based requirements without disrupting the mainstream visitor experience.
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Hospitality Mobilization: Providing a transparent roadmap for local hospitality players to upgrade physical infrastructures—such as seamless transit corridors, step-by-step wayfinding, and certified dining assets—ensuring machine-readable and visible digital trust upstream.
Looking Toward Regional Leadership
CrescentRating’s active participation in the RIHLAH forum underscores a shared commitment to building a deeply inclusive global tourism fabric. By training local operators to proactively address traveler friction, the Philippines is moving to secure its position as a dominant non-OIC market leader.
As the archipelago prepares its hospitality sector ahead of the upcoming ASEAN Summit in October, these structured training frameworks ensure the destination is fully positioned to capture high-yield travel corridors and drive long-term economic resilience.
