MANILA – A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Philippines and State of Qatar was signed with the goal of strengthening cooperation in the aspects of “mutual development and growth of tourism and business events.”
According to the Department of Tourism (DOT), the MOU was signed by DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and State Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi on Monday and witnessed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Qatar Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani at the Malacanang Palace, as one of the agreement exchanged during the State Visit of the Qatar Amir to the Philippines.
“𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘘𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘘𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵,” Secretary Frasco said.
Under the MOU, the Philippines and Qatar agreed to jointly work towards encouraging tourist flows into each country; promoting cooperation between travel and tourism agencies and other establishments to increase tourist exchange and promotion; and creating favourable conditions for movements and communications for the visiting tourists, the DOT revealed.
“The MoU also solidifies the two countries’ intent to encourage tourism investments; undertake exchange of organizational expertise, knowledge, statistics, and best practices; promote familiarization visits for media and tourism experts, and further skills development of operators, employees, and specialists in tourism through seminars and specialized trainings,” the DOT added.
On the aspect of business events, both countries have agreed to promote holding of various business events including exhibitions and conferences attractive to tourists, promote cooperation between other relevant exhibitions and conferences, organizing agencies; encourage exchange of organizational experiences in the field of business events; encourage familiarization visits in the field of business; exchange legislations and regulations; and provide possible logistical support at the international level for hosting exhibitions and international conferences.
A Joint Working Team between the Philippines and Qatar will also be formed to undertake and set up the work programme, execution, follow up, and evaluation of the activities in line with the implementation of the provisions of the agreement.
“𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘘𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯 (𝘕𝘛𝘋𝘗) 2023-2028, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭, 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘹𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘔𝘐𝘊𝘌) 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢,” Frasco said.
“𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥-𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘔𝘐𝘊𝘌 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩–𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴. 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘘𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘐𝘊𝘌 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴,” Frasco added.
The signing of the MOU follows the awarding of the Philippines as the Emerging Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year (Non-OIC) at the prestigious Halal in Travel Global Summit 2023.
Based on DOT data, the Philippines received 10,438 visitor arrivals from Qatar in 2023. This year, visitor arrivals have reached 3,784 from January to April as of April 20, 2024.
