Taipei needs to continue to promote itself as a Muslim-friendly city so that it can be ready to welcome Muslim visitors when international tourism resumes, Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) told a news conference yesterday.
“Once our borders open for tourists, we need to have sufficient facilities for Muslim tourists,” Tsai said. “Even though we do not have many Muslim friends here at the moment, we are committed to building a foundation.”
If efforts to develop a Muslim-friendly city stop because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taipei would not be ready when borders open for tourism, he said, adding that he understands the pandemic has heavily affected the tourism industry.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government Department of Information and Tourism
Despite the lack of tourists, efforts have not gone to waste, he said.
Taiwan this year was ranked the second most attractive nation among those that are not Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) destinations for Muslim travelers as listed by the Global Muslim Travel Index, Tsai said.
The index, which was released in July, showed Taiwan and the UK tied for second among the top non-OIC destinations for Muslims, with a score of 57, trailing Singapore’s 69.
“We want to compete with Singapore for the No. 1 spot, especially as almost every visitor to Taiwan visits the capital,” Tsai said.
Taipei has been working with the Chinese Muslim Association for the past three years on the accreditation of Muslim-friendly places or tourist sites, he said.
Forty-nine hotels in Taipei have been certified, as have 16 sights in the city, he said.
“Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) hopes to make Taipei the world’s most Muslim-friendly tourist spot, and we are approaching that goal step by step,” Tsai said.
Separately, Chinese Muslim Association vice president Salahuding Ma (馬超彥) told reporters that he has noticed the efforts of Taipei to make itself Muslim-friendly, commending Taiwan’s friendly environment for making it possible.
“Taiwan is a very safe, very friendly and convenient place,” Ma said.
Ma said that a Muslim told him that while traveling in Taiwan, he was allowed to pray in convenience stores, which was not possible in some Western countries.
“Taiwan touches hearts, which visitors tell others when they return home,” Ma said.
The association provides advice and evaluates premises, such as making sure hotels signify the kiblah — the direction of Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, toward which Muslims pray — in prayer rooms and that alcoholic beverages are not provided in minibars.
Novi Irmania, a 31-year-old Indonesian doctoral student who has lived in Taiwan for seven years, said that Taipei is her second home, because it has many Muslim-friendly facilities.
“In many of the prayer rooms, they have kiblah for Muslims and also provide prayer mats, schedules and other items,” she said. “It is really touching.”
Malaysian Mohamad bin Mos, who has lived in Taiwan for five years and has cycled around Taiwan twice, said he is impressed with Taipei’s efforts to become a Muslim-friendly city.
It is convenient and safe to find a place to pray, while halal food is plentiful in Taipei, he said. “It is very safe, you can perform your prayers and rituals without any difficulties.”
VOTERS’ CHOICE: The DPP’s Chen and independent candidate Huang conceded defeat before 7:20pm, with Chiang pledging to remain humble and do his best Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday won the Taipei mayoral election, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate defeating the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) pick, former minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), and former Taipei deputy mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), an independent. After polling stations closed at 4pm, the Taipei Election Commission issued a preliminary estimate that voter turnout in the city was about 64 percent, slightly lower than in 2018. Chiang, 43, is to be the youngest Taipei mayor ever, with the KMT regaining the capital after eight years. Chen had an exceptionally high national approval rating when he was head
In the last few days before the local elections on Saturday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said it is focusing on 10 regions it considers highly contested areas, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said it is stepping up campaigns across the nation. The DPP considers Keelung, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, and Maoli, Yilan, Nantou, Penghu, Changhua and Yunlin counties as areas where its candidates are facing fierce competition, a party source said. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice President William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) plan to visit those areas again this week, the source said. The night before the elections,
A naval landing craft on Thursday sank near Kinmen County after wet weather and rough seas flooded its cabin, the Naval Fleet Command said. The vessel, called Landing Craft Mechanized 1326, had completed transport and replenishment missions in the county and was returning to Taiwan proper when surging waves flooded the cabin, the navy said in a statement. The craft’s five crew members tried to bail out the water to no avail, the Navy said. The landing craft eventually sank off Kinmen’s Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣) at 5:18pm, although all crew members rescued, it said, adding that the precise cause of the sinking
TOURIST HOTSPOT: The air charter services would drastically cut travel time to the world-renowned beach with its service to Caticlan, instead of Kalibo Royal Air Philippines is to launch next month direct flights between Taiwan and the Philippine city of Caticlan, a closer entry point to tourist hotspot Boracay. The airline will initially offer six charter flights between Dec. 26 and Jan. 15, with the flight frequency increasing to one per day during the Lunar New Year and winter holidays from Jan. 19 to Feb. 8, it announced at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The charter flight services will drastically cut travel time to Boracay to about two hours and 45 minutes. Before the new route is launched, travelers from Taiwan who
RSS