Boracay is set to be reintroduced as a more Muslim-friendly destination this year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said as it amplifies efforts to attract foreign Muslim travelers to visit the country.<\/p>\n
This September, the DOT will launch the \u201cMuslim-Friendly Boracay,\u201d an initiative in partnership with the local government of Malay, Aklan.<\/p>\n
The program, it said, would open up \u201cprivate coves\u201d that Muslim women could access and enjoy.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Malay Mayor Floribar Bautista) is looking for an area. Actually, he already identified three possible areas. Iyon ang ila-launch sa September (that is what we’re going to launch in September),\u201d DOT Undersecretary for Muslim Affairs Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakar said in an interview on Friday night.<\/p>\n
The municipality, Valderrosa-Abubakar said, would also redesign the island\u2019s port to include a prayer room and ablution area for Muslims.<\/p>\n
She said the DOT is currently accepting letters of intent from Boracay accommodation establishments to be recognized as Muslim-friendly stays.<\/p>\n
Valderrosa-Abubakar also expressed hope that one of Megaworld Hotels and Resorts\u2019 stays on the island could soon add a Halal-certified kitchen after its recent deal with the DOT to make its properties \u201cMuslim-friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boracay\u2019s Newcoast, a 150-hectare mixed-use leisure and resort development, is one of Megaworld\u2019s townships in the country and houses hotels.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, tugma-tugma na siya lahat, na mayroon kang private cove doon for Muslims (it will all be linked \u2013 there will be a private cove for Muslims), then (a) hotel that has a Halal kitchen, and then there\u2019s another airline that wants to partner with DOT also for Halal-friendly airline,\u201d Valderrosa-Abubakar said.<\/p>\n
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco first announced the Muslim-Friendly Boracay initiative at the opening of the Salaam 2024: Travel and Trade Expo in Quezon City on Friday. (PNA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Boracay’s beauty shines brighter with its new appeal to Muslim tourists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":256101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-256100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-travel"],"zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=256100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/256101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=256100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=256100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=256100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}