The Tourism Bureau yesterday said it aimed to have 50 restaurants certified as Muslim-friendly as it looks at options to further tap into the Muslim tourist market.
Eric Lin (林坤源), director of the bureau’s international travel division, said Muslim tourists visiting Taiwan mainly come from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and northwest China.
The bureau hopes to see 10 percent growth in tourist arrivals from each of those countries this year, Lin said.
Photo: Tseng Hung-ju, Taipei Times
The frequency of broadcasts of television commercials on traveling in Taiwan in Malaysia has increased, he said, adding that the bureau has also worked with travel agencies to organize tours.
“The nation drew about 6 million tourists last year,” Lin said. “The population of Muslim countries is approximately 1.7 billion, which presents a high potential for international visitors.”
The “Muslim-Friendly Restaurant” certification was handled by the Chinese Muslim Association.
Association secretary-general Salahuddin Ma Chao-yen (馬超彥) said the main purpose of the certification was to let Muslims around the world know that there are Muslims in Taiwan as well.
Based on the certification guidelines, restaurants must ensure that the food offered to Muslims is prepared according to Islamic law. The guidelines also have specific instructions for various items, ranging from buying from certified halal food suppliers and seasonings to cookware.
The service personnel must also receive training on the “dos and don’ts” of hosting according to Muslim customs.
Eleven restaurants nationwide have already been certified as Muslim-only businesses — which serve only halal food — while there are seven Muslim-friendly eateries — businesses that serve both halal and non-halal food.
Restaurants in some amusement parks, such as Leofoo Village Theme Park in Hsinchu County, are among those that have been certified.
Jozo Chen (陳怡穎), marketing specialist at Shangrila Leisure Farm in Yilan County, said the farm hosted about 1,000 Muslim tourists last year.
“Apart from the food, they [Muslim tourists] also require a separate dining area to eat,” Chen said. “We must also have arrow signs [pointing to Mecca] for their daily prayers and proper washing facilities in the hotel rooms.”
Chen said the cost of hosting Muslims is slightly higher than that of non-Muslim tourists, but the certification would help the hotel attract more tourists from Muslim nations.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by