Philippine Food Tourism Targets GCC Travelers
The Philippines is leveraging its culinary heritage to attract visitors from Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as revealed by Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco. Hosting the UN’s first regional forum on food travel in Cebu City, the country focuses on advancing culinary tourism in the Asia-Pacific region. This year saw over two million international travelers to the Philippines, with a 10 percent increase in visitors from GCC countries.
The Philippines is leveraging its rich culinary heritage to attract visitors, particularly from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, according to Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco.
Hosting the UN’s first regional forum on food travel alongside the annual joint meeting of the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the Commission for South Asia, the event in Cebu City centered on advancing culinary tourism in the Asia-Pacific region.
Frasco noted that tourism arrivals from GCC countries had bounced back post-pandemic, with over two million international travelers visiting the Philippines this year alone and a 10 percent increase in GCC visitors.
In an effort to revive its tourism sector, the Philippines has expanded its halal tourism offerings, recently winning the Emerging Muslim-friendly non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation Destination award at the Halal in Travel Global Summit in Singapore.
The country, with a population of nearly 120 million and a Muslim minority of about 10 percent, is focusing on strategic partnerships and promoting leisure, luxury, and medical tourism to attract more Middle Eastern travelers.
With approximately two million Filipinos residing in the GCC region, Philippine stakeholders aim to cater to their culinary and tourism needs.
Hosting the UN’s first regional forum on food travel alongside the annual joint meeting of the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the Commission for South Asia, the event in Cebu City centered on advancing culinary tourism in the Asia-Pacific region.
Frasco noted that tourism arrivals from GCC countries had bounced back post-pandemic, with over two million international travelers visiting the Philippines this year alone and a 10 percent increase in GCC visitors.
In an effort to revive its tourism sector, the Philippines has expanded its halal tourism offerings, recently winning the Emerging Muslim-friendly non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation Destination award at the Halal in Travel Global Summit in Singapore.
The country, with a population of nearly 120 million and a Muslim minority of about 10 percent, is focusing on strategic partnerships and promoting leisure, luxury, and medical tourism to attract more Middle Eastern travelers.
With approximately two million Filipinos residing in the GCC region, Philippine stakeholders aim to cater to their culinary and tourism needs.
