Tourism and Hospitality Industry News Updates brought to you by MY RANGGO Hospitality Magazine for the week ending 19 September 2025.
Our Tourism & Hospitality Industry News Headlines:-
- Fire Fest 2025 Set For 4-5 October
- DOT Establishes Muslim-Friendly Recognition Program
- 1st Philippine Tour Guide Summit Takes Place
- Airbnb Expands Remit To Hotels
- TripAdvisor Forges Partnerships with Gen AI Search Platforms
- Google Hotel Ad Costs Increase by 40%
Fire Fest 2025 – All set for 4-5 October
Fire Fest 2025 is locked and loaded for its seventh year. Taking place 4-5 October, at the Renaissance Convention Center, Riverbanks, Marikina, the event promises four convention halls of food, culture and activities.
The Smoke Hall – centers on beer and meat, with an open-air smoke station, and is overseen by the Pitmasters Club of the Philippines and the Philippine Craft Brewers Association.
Air Hall – is dedicated to all things plants, with lectures on chili-hybrids and endemic plant species, as well as plant displays
Spark Hall – is given over to crafts, heritage and artisan foods, and is being managed by Sarap Pilipinas. This area will also host the first Chili Cocktail Cup.
Heat Hall – is where Chili Fest 8 will take place, and the events biggest draw – the ‘Matira Matibay’ where each round sees the heat intensifying until there is only one winner left! The Table of Fire will feature over 200 different chili products and hot sauce samples from around the Philippines, for attendees to try.
Organized for 6 years by The Philippine Chili Federation, the focus is on showcasing the wares of local vendors and small businesses. Visit firefestph.com For more details and Early-bird Ticket Prices
DOT Establishes Muslim-Friendly Recognition Program
The Department of Tourism has established the Muslim-friendly Accommodation Establishment Recognition Program (MFAE) in a drive to further expand inclusive tourism in the Philippines.
The program has been developed in recognition of gaps in the tourism market and the need to strengthen inclusivity in order to attract more visitors to the Philippines.
Currently 13 Halal Kitchens and 35 Accommodation providers have been recognized as Muslim-friendly, with expectations that the list will grow as businesses are supported in their endeavor’s to become more inclusive.
1st Philippine Tour Guide Summit Takes Place
A regional Tour Guide Summit took place for the first time in Cebu City on 17th September.
Attended by more than 400 DOT-accredited local and regional Tour Guides from Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas, the DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco promised a Magna Carta for Tourism Workers that will support and protect tour guides in their crucial role as front-line workers in the tourism sector.
The summit was themed “Love our Islands, Love our Stories” and centered on providing a national platform for tour guides, as well as stakeholders and policy makers, to come together to discuss the development of professional standards, and skills and knowledge through resources and training programs.
As long as there are tour guides to tell our stories, the Philippines will never lose its voice. As long as there are tour guides to welcome the world, the Philippines will never lose its heart. And as long as there are tour guides who love our islands, the Philippines will never lose its soul – Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco – Department Of Tourism.
Global Industry News Updates
Airbnb Expands Remit To Hotels
Airbnb is broadening its market to Boutique and Independent Hotels. Could this become an alternative option for small and independent hotels wanting to escape the increasing power struggle with certain global OTA’s?
It would seem to be a healthy option for smaller hotels, with commission rates set at 15.5% and as many as 1.6 billion platform accesses a year.
Starting in New York city and a few other cities in the US, if the new model works Airbnb will expand it further.
TripAdvisor Forges Partnerships with Gen AI Search Platforms
TripAdvisor’s CEO Matt Goldberg recently announced they have been working with a number of AI companies, including OpenAI and Perplexity, in a drive to adapt the platform for multimodal and agentic AI search.
At the recent Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, Goldberg discussed the importance of user-generated content on travel sites, and the critical role guest reviews play in online visibility. Not just in building brand trust, but also feeding information to audiences switching to Gen AI platforms for trip planning and bookings.
Whilst the percentage of travelers using Gen AI search platforms to search, compare and book hotels and travel packages is yet to fully challenge the likes of traditional search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo! the numbers are increasing and the ‘big boys’ are betting on it.
TripAdvisor was one of the first travel-focused websites to offer AI-assisted trip planning back in 2023, and has recently implemented AI summaries.
Findings on its Trip Planning tool, back in Q3 – 2023 showed two significant outcomes:-
- Members using the tool to create an itinerary were more likely to return to their cart/itinerary package, and
- Its Trip Planning tool brought in three times more revenue from bookings compared to bookings made without it.
Elsewhere, Booking.com has been preparing itself for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), also known as AI Search Optimization – as reported in last weeks Industry News Updates. As has Kayak, which will be launching an LLM (Large Language Model) AI Tool in the next two weeks, to offer its users a conversational booking experience.
Source: PhocusWire
Google Hotel Ad Costs Increase by 40%
The latest Hotel Digital Marketing Performance Index by Cendyn shows that Google’s Hotel Ad costs have increased between 20-40% (year-on-year) in 2025, whilst arguably delivering less for your bucks.
The Report is worth a read as it also covers:-
- The impact of new / updated online privacy rules on the ability to measure marketing campaign outcomes accurately, or utilize data to improve market optimization.
- AI-driven strategies that can lower customer acquisition costs by as much as 19%, and boost conversions (see here)
- Regional Insights to assist Hotel Marketers when planning a marketing strategy.
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