Ph as a muslim friendly destination

Making The Philippines a

Muslim- Friendly

Destination

The Muslim Outbound Travel Market is an enormous market to tap

There are 1.6 million Muslims in the United Kingdom

16 million Muslims in Europe

1.7 billion or 20 per cent of the world’s population

are Muslims

The Middle East region is one of the smallest, yet fastest growing, tourist generating regions in the world. Outbound travel from the Middle East has more than quadrupled from 8.2 million in 1990 to 36.2 million in 2010.

Average annual growth rate of 9.9% during the period 2000-2010 is the highest in the world, well above the global average of 3.4% per annum for the same period, reflecting a dynamic growth trend unmatched by any other world region.

The Middle East region is an attractive market for tourism

They spend more than the average tourist

Critical Travel Criteria UAERating

Qatar Rating

Saudi Arabia Rating

Kuwait Rating

Oman Rating

Bahrain Rating

Travel Spend per person (USD/pd)

3280 4100 3360 2670 1606 1860

5

They frequently use the more expensive hotel rooms and airline seats

Critical Travel Criteria UAERating

Qatar Rating

Saudi Arabia Rating

Kuwait Rating

Oman Rating

Bahrain Rating

Travel Class / Room Type - Dominating usage trends for GCC nationals)

F 30%J 60%Y 10%

F 40% J 40%Y 20%

F 10%J 40% Y 50%

F 5%J 15%Y 45%

F 5%J 15%Y 80%

F 10%J 20%Y 70%

6

But we have not been able to get as many Muslim tourists as our neighbors

SOURCE COUNTRY MARKETS

Southeast Asian Countries

Philippines Malaysia Singapore Thailand Vietnam

  2013 2012 2012 2013 2013

Brunei 8,297 1,258,070 71,755 14,304  

Indonesia 45,582 2,382,606 2,837,537 589,079 70,390

Iran 3,652 127,404 18,553    

Kuwait 5,048   7,621 70,598  

Malaysia 109,437   1,231,686 2,996,071 339,510

Turkey 3,731   18,029    

Saudi Arabia 38,969 102,365 17,969 21,386  

United Arab Emirates 15,155   65,552 122,312  

But with DOT’s recent marketing efforts, the number of Muslim travelers to the Philippines has been growing

Muslim Tourists’

Characteristics

Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar etc)

Islamic Lifestyle, High spending, Enjoy shopping, FIT

(single/couple & Families), Travel with immediate & extended

families, Very late booking, free & easy package, Book with travel

agencies

Nusantara (Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore)

Islamic Lifestyle, Moderate spending, Enjoy shopping, FIT &

group, free & easy package, Book with travel agencies, Online

Booking, Short Holiday, Mostly speak Malay

Muslim Tourists

Expectations

Study conducted by Malaysia’s Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) in collaboration with UiTM in 2010 – “A Study on Middle East Tourist Services Expectation and Satisfaction GAP in Malaysian Accommodation Providers”.Major Activities

• Sightseeing, Visiting beaches, Theme parks, Hiking & Shopping

Expectation

• Arab cuisine/dishes, good restaurant atmosphere and ambience

• Preferred Newspapers , TV, Hotel Information and Room Service Menu in Arabic language

• Cleanliness, courtesy and friendly services and ability to communicate in Arabic language

Muslim tourists Expectations Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran,

Kuwait, Oman, Qatar etc)

Mosque, Surau, Halal food, Middle eastern foods, demand high level of services, 5 star or High quality service apartments, large limousine/ MPV, free & easy package, Arabic speaking staffs, Good shopping centre, Theme park, Nature Park, Experience, Active, Separate

pool, Arab street/ Square (shop, dine & meet), Arabic media or guide book, Qiblat sign,

Cleanness, Informative Arabic speaking guide

Muslim tourists Expectations Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE,

Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar etc)

Park & garden (lake garden), butterfly, birds park, Kuala Gadah Elephant Sanctuary,

Tropical Fruits, Genting Highlands, Langkawi Island, Putrajaya Botanical Garden,

Spice Garden

Muslim tourists Expectations

Nusantara (Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei,

Singapore)

Mosque, Surau, Halal food, Good local food, good services, clean accommodation, safe transportation, free & easy to full board package, shopping centre, Theme park, Nature Park, Experience, Qiblat Sign, Cleanness, Informative guide

Indonesian Population as of 2013: 253 million

Indonesia Muslim Population: 207 million

13% of the total number of Muslims in the world lives in Indonesia

The Western part of Indonesia is composed of a largely Muslim population:

(Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Lombok and North Moluccas)

VISITOR ARRIVAL OF INDONESIA2007-2012 Arrivals

2007-2012

Indonesia

Where do they go in the

Philippines?

BoracayCebuManilaPalawan (Underground River)

Market AttractivenessSPENDING POWER Increasing GDP per capita

(US$3,512 in 2011; 29% increase since 2005)

Rapidly growing middle- class

- 61% middle-class - 17% high-income/High

Net Worth Individuals (HNWI)3rd largest population in

Asia (after China and India)

Market Attractiveness

FAVORABLE CONDITIONSAbolition of the

prohibitive exit tax12 working days official

holiday entitlement – compulsory

14 official, nationwide public holidays throughout the year

Long holiday during Eid Al-Fitr/Lebaran period (two weeks)

Travel is a status symbol for the middle class

Becoming more travel-savvy thus FIT is increasing

Interest in history, culture and shopping

More relaxed interpretation of Islam (no pork)

Younger people increasingly choose backpacking

PROFILE

Air Access

Route Airline/s Flight Frequenc

y per Week

Seat Capaci

ty

Total Seats per

Week

Total Seats

Annually

Jakarta to Manila

PALCebu Pacific

114

177156

1,947624

93,45629,952

Bali to Manila

PALCebu Pacific

32

177180

531360

25,48817,280

TOTAL 20 flights 3,462 166,176 Indonesia to Philippines is 3 hours & 40 minutes away

Where they goIndonesians usually go to

Singapore and Malaysia because they are perceived as the closest countries that are still different to Indonesia due to modernity. These countries are easy to visit due to proximity and are readily accessible since visa is not required.

PRODUCT OFFERINGMarket Segment

Profile: Indonesian Muslims

Shopping

Sight-seeing

Culture and heritage related to Muslim history

Source: DOT-TRSD

Source: DOT-TRSD

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Source: DOT-TRSD

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Source: DOT-TRSD

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Source: DOT-TRSD

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Frequency of Visit

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab EmiratesProfile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the

PhilippinesPhilippines

Source: DOT-TRSD

Source: DOT-TRSD

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Source: DOT-TRSD

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Source: DOT-TRSD

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Source: DOT-TRSD

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Frequency of Visit

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

Profile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the PhilippinesPhilippines

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaProfile of Arrivals to the Profile of Arrivals to the

PhilippinesPhilippines

3. What is important For Middle Easterners while traveling?When choosing their holiday destinations, GCC nationals rate the following factors with great importance:

1) The image of the holidays destination2) Good tourist facilities3) Cultural familiarity4) Variety of shopping and 5) Good weather

• For these reasons, they prefer countries in the Middle East like Oman, Lebanon,

Egypt, Syria and Jordan which are popular for their cultural affinity as well as being friendly family places• The Far East, especially Thailand and Malaysia are in the top ten of the GCC favourites destinations• Classic European destinations such as UK, Germany, Switzerland and Italy are

all time favourites• Austria and Australia are becoming more popular due to marketing efforts• Statistics report also the popularity of the Indian Ocean islands like Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius for short trips 

49

DOT’s Marketing Efforts to Attract the Muslim

Market

TEAM MIDDLE EAST &Middle East Market Office

Team Middle East was created in 2009 with the objective of recapturing lost market share from the region

In May 2011, a marketing office was set up in Dubai to serve the Middle East region while focusing on the Gulf Coordinating Council countries

Marketing Activities for Middle East Market

Conduct of Roadshows2010: Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain,

Dubai & Abu Dhabi2011: Qatar2012: Abu Dhabi2013: Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia

Participation in Travel Fairs

1. Arabian Travel Market (Dubai) – 2009 to 2014

2. Emirates Holiday World – 2009 to 2012

3. Riyadh Travel Fair – 2014

Marketing Activities for Middle East Market

Familiarization trips Travel Agents Broadcast Media Print Media

Write-ups on Ph

Collaterals/ Brochures in Arabic

Stakeholders’ Overall Vision:Stakeholders’ Overall Vision:

““An environmentally and socially responsible tourism that delivers more An environmentally and socially responsible tourism that delivers more widely distributed income and employment opportunities.” widely distributed income and employment opportunities.”

Stakeholders’ Strategic Vision: Stakeholders’ Strategic Vision:

““TO BECOME THE “MUST EXPERIENCE” DESTINATION IN ASIA.”TO BECOME THE “MUST EXPERIENCE” DESTINATION IN ASIA.”

Stakeholders’ strategic vision, and goal are consistent with the Philippine Stakeholders’ strategic vision, and goal are consistent with the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 that focuses upon creating sustainable, rapid Development Plan 2011-2016 that focuses upon creating sustainable, rapid

and inclusive socio-economic Growthand inclusive socio-economic Growth

National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP)

Islamic tourism Of Tomorrow

Islamic tourism of tomorrow need to be more strategic to maintain its success. It

will be necessary to combine business skills with integrated planning practices in order to satisfy customers & meet competition. The industry must be an active participant in the continuing conference/ dialogue over

conservation of Islamic tourism, nature, culture and heritage resources.

Tourism in Islam Travel and tourism are

integral to Islamic political, economic, legal and social policies.

Based on the Islamic worldview of God, man and nature, tourism is part of the ad-din (way of life) and travel is fundamental to Islam (Quran Chapter 29: verse 20; Q22:46).

dailytravelphotos.com

Bazaar of the Tentmakers

Tourism and Islam Islam encourages

visiting Muslim brothers, as this helps strengthen silaturrahim (bond) among the ummah, or Muslim community (Q49:10).

Islam is a religion of peace and tourism is an activity of peace. It is part of the

process of peace building and developing relations between people.

The building of peace – whether involving people or the environment –

is very much part of Islam. Imtiaz Muqbil, Travel Impact Newswire.

Comments from DOT’s previous guests from Muslim countriesYou invited us here but are you sure that we are

welcome here?There are no prayer rooms We did not find halal restaurantsThe hotel rooms do not meet our needsThere is no Arab channel in our hotel TVWe feel more welcome in Thailand

Thank you for the seafood that have been fed to us the past 6 days. But please, we cannot have seafood all the time, take us to a halal restaurant now

This is a great country. How come you have not been promoting your country as much as Thailand and Malaysia have? I am sure Muslims will come here if they are given more information about your country since the many tourist attractions you have are what they are looking for