The third edition of SALAAM: The Halal Tourism and Trade Expo Philippines brought together halal-certified food producers, and wellness brands under one roof after a three-day run at the Upper Ground Floor of Gateway Mall 2 in Araneta City, Quezon City.
Organized by the Department of Tourism, SALAAM first launched in 2024 at the same Gateway Mall venue. This year’s edition is the largest so far, and it lands at a point where the Philippines’ halal tourism push is starting to get outside recognition, not just domestic attention.
Halal trade no longer a sideline
Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said the government is positioning the halal sector as a growth driver, not a niche add-on.
“For the Philippines, this represents a major opportunity. It is not a niche or a side market, but a growing global economy that we are now engaging with more deliberately,” she said.
She said the sector’s reach extends well past hotel and tour bookings.
“Tourism is often viewed in terms of arrivals and receipts, but the halal economy broadens that conversation. It connects tourism to agriculture, hospitality to manufacturing, and local communities to global markets. That is the scale of opportunity before us,” Angara-Mathay said.
She tied the push to ties that predate the policy. “The people of Mindanao, Sulu, Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia have long been linked through trade, culture, faith, and family ties. These relationships existed long before modern borders and formal institutions. In many ways, what we now call regional integration is simply the formal recognition of relationships that have long existed in practice and throughout history,” she said. “That is why halal tourism matters.”
The numbers behind that claim are not small. The Philippines is home to an estimated 15 million Muslim Filipinos, with the largest concentration in Mindanao and the Bangsamoro region, and sits within close reach of Muslim-majority markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.
On the policy side, DOT has worked with local governments, tourism enterprises, and Muslim communities to expand training for tourism workers, set Muslim-friendly accommodation standards under a 2024 circular, widen access to halal-certified food, and add prayer facilities at destinations.
“This is not a peripheral program. It is central to how we are upgrading the overall visitor experience in the Philippines,” Angara-Mathay said. “These are practical interventions, but they are already producing real results.”
Recognition outside the Philippines
Some of that progress has already been verified by outside ratings bodies. The Philippines was named a Rising Muslim-friendly Destination in the Mastercard CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index, an annual benchmark that tracks how well non-Muslim-majority countries serve Muslim travelers. The Philippines was placed in that category alongside Thailand, Ireland, and Spain. Arab News
The same index work runs through the Halal in Travel Global Summit, where Tourism Undersecretary Myra Paz Abubakar was named Halal Travel Personality of the Year, and Megaworld Hotels and Resorts won Muslim-friendly Hotel Chain of the Year for its work on Muslim-friendly accommodation standards.
CrescentRating, the ratings body behind both the index and the summit awards, is widely used across the halal travel industry as a reference point for which destinations and properties meet baseline Muslim-friendly standards, making the recognition a useful external check on what DOT has been building internally through SALAAM and its accommodation circulars. Arab News
Bigger than religious compliance
Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino Anthony called this year’s edition the strongest yet.
“I am truly proud to stand here and say that this third Halal Trade and Tourism event is the best I have seen in the past three years,” he said, thanking the organizers and partners involved.
He used Malaysia’s own figures to argue that halal trade is bigger than religious compliance.
“Malaysia’s halal ecosystem is part of a broader cultural economy. In 2025, our halal exports reached RM28.52 billion, spanning food, fashion, lifestyle, and services. This demonstrates that halal is not only about religion — it is about trust, quality, added value, and access to global markets,” he said.
Castelino, who has tracked the expo since its first run, said the Philippines’ progress has been measurable on his end too.
“Seeing how the halal industry has grown in the Philippines — especially halal tourism — has been truly remarkable. Over the past three years, I have witnessed the increasing number of halal-related applications, the recognition of more halal-friendly tourism destinations, the growing pool of trained professionals, and the many investment opportunities created through the halal sector,” he said.
“We see the Philippines as an important partner in advancing the halal economy and strengthening ASEAN’s position in the global halal market.”
Meanwhile, Tourism Undersecretary for Halal Tourism and Muslim Concerns Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakar, who has run SALAAM since its 2024 launch, said this year’s expo reflects work that has been building for years.
“What we see today is the result of systems, partnerships, and relationships that have been carefully built over time,” she said. “These collective efforts have enabled us to grow in both scale and confidence, as reflected in our Halal Product and Business Showcase, where Filipino enterprises demonstrate not only the diversity of our offerings but also the country’s readiness to compete in the global halal market.”
She also pointed to the expo’s regional component. “We also proudly present the Salaam Village Regional Showcase, where regions from across the country take center stage to share their unique stories, cultural identities, and heritage, highlighting the richness and diversity of the Filipino experience,” Abubakar said, adding that new partnerships have opened access to destinations across Muslim-majority countries.
Exhibitors included Mubaarak Fresh Food, Jegen Swe Enterprises (San Sierra Herbal), Robinsons Hotels and Resorts, Twin Lakes Hotel, Magpoc’s Pastry Products Manufacturing, Eldica Seafood Processing, Philippine Wild Raw Honey Corporation, Rawdah Cosmetics, and Tropical Palm Herb Manufacturing, alongside dozens of smaller enterprises spanning food, seafood, wellness, cosmetics, and accommodation.
DOT’s broader halal push isn’t limited to the expo floor. Earlier this year, the agency released a three-volume Muslim-friendly travelogue covering Islamic heritage, Muslim-friendly travel, and halal culinary destinations, part of the same strategy now on display at Gateway Mall 2.
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