Taiwan Continues to Increase Muslim-Friendly Tourist Facilities

Jakarta, MINA – Taiwan specifically seeks to improve Muslim-friendly environments so that more Muslim travelers can travel to Formosa, which means “the beautiful island”.

It was conveyed by the Head of Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia (TETO) John C. Chen when opening Taiwan pavilion and Taipei Flash Shop in one of the largest tourism exhibitions in Indonesia, “Kompas Travel Fair 2019” on Friday, September 20.

“Taiwan is very welcome for tourists of various countries, especially Indonesia, which is predominantly Muslim,” Chen said.

He revealed that Taiwan’s efforts were seen in the inaugural in 2019 “Mastercard-Crescent Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI),” the country succeeded in ranking third-best Muslim-friendly tourist destinations in the category of non-Muslim countries, surpassing other well-known tourist destinations.

He explained that the government continues to provide Muslim-friendly facilities at tourist sites in Taiwan.

“We already have hotels with a minimum of three stars and even five stars that already have halal certificates. Also, several places such as at the airport and fast train station have been prepared by for places of worship. Many restaurants are also encouraged to provide halal food,” he explained.

According to the Chinese Muslim Association (CMA), an institution that conducts halal certification in Taiwan reported that until now there are at least 200 hotels and restaurants throughout Taiwan that get Halal certification. A total of 19 mosques are also available throughout the territory of Taiwan.

In addition, the Taiwanese government has also created a smartphone-based digital application specifically for Muslim-friendly tourism with the name “Halal Taiwan” to facilitate Muslim travelers to explore halal tourist destinations there.

Taiwan Halal application, which was launched on the Playstore two years ago, was made in collaboration with the Indonesian Muslim student community in Taiwan.

In the application, there are various guidelines for finding Muslim-friendly facilities such as prayer rooms, halal food, hotels, Muslim-friendly destinations, and other route maps.

By 2018 there were at least 210,000 Indonesians visiting Taiwan. During the period of January to June 2019, the number of Indonesian citizens to Taiwan penetrated 100,000 people, an increase of 9.04 percent compared to the same period in 2018.

“We expect that by the end of this year, the number of Indonesian citizens visiting Taiwan will double,” he said.

Increase Indonesian Muslim Traveler Visits

Chen said that combined with the steps to simplify visa applications for Indonesian citizens who came to Taiwan would certainly make Indonesian travelers safer, more comfortable and easier to travel to Taiwan.

In order to open up the International Muslim market and showcase Taipei Muslim-friendly achievements, the city’s Tourism and Communications Bureau participated in a tourism exhibition in Jakarta.

The pavilion’s presence at “Kompas Travel Fair 2019” which took place on Thursday-Sunday, September 20-22, 2019 at Jakarta Convention Center, to get information on the latest Taiwan tourism products, especially Muslim-friendly tourism.

Taiwan Tourism Bureau with a group of 15 Taiwan tourism industry participated in this event which will later share the beauty of the scenery, the delicacy of food, the cultural environment, and Muslim-friendly as well as others to Indonesian friends.

The delegation of Taiwan’s tourism delegation also returned to Indonesia to promote Taiwan tourism, will hold B2B promotions at the Fairmont Hotel, Jakarta on September 23, 2019, and JW Marriott, Medan on September 25, 2019.

“We hope that through direct contact and cooperation can further make Indonesian people more familiar with the beauty of Taiwan,” he added. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)