Tourism and Hospitality Industry News Updates brought to you by LuxLife’s Best Hospitality News Platform 2025 Philippines – MY RANGGO – for the week ending 31 October 2025.
Our Tourism & Hospitality Industry News Headlines:-
- Michelin Stars Awarded to 9 Philippine Restaurants
- TikTok DOT MOA Signed
- Muslim-Friendly Philippine Travelogue Published.
- Direct Cebu to Siquijor Flights Announced.
- Intramuros Passport Launched
- Minimal PH Presence in the Tatler Best Awards 2025
- NGO Traveler Platform Launched
- The World Travel Expo Philippine Pavilion bags Silver Award
- Scammers Pose As Booking.com
Michelin Stars Awarded to 9 Philippine Restaurants
The Philippines gained its first Michelin Stars Restaurants last night at the Michelin Guide Ceremony for Manila and Environs & Cebu 2026.
Since February 2025, Restaurants from across Manila including ‘environs’ – outlying areas such as Pampanga, Tagaytay, and Cavite – and Cebu, have been visited and assessed by anonymous MICHELIN Guide Inspectors.
Being the first time that restaurants in the Philippines have ever been assessed by the Michelin Guide Team, it’s heartening that 8 Restaurants were awarded One Star. But to start your Michelin journey off the bat with a Two Star Award (Helm by Chef Josh Boutwood) is outstanding!
One Star:
- Asador Alfonso – Cavite
- Celera – Makati
- Gallery by Chele – Taguig. Gallery by Chele also received the only Green Award for its commitment to sustainability; community sourcing, biodiversity and waste reduction.
- Hapag – Makati
- Inatô – Makati
- Kasa Palma – Makati
- Linamnam – Parañaque
- Toyo Eatery – Makati
Two Star:
Helm – Makati
A further 25 Restaurants received the Bib Gourmand Award. The Bib Gourmand is awarded to restaurants that offer exceptional food at reasonable prices. 19 of these restaurants are located in Manila and its surrounding areas (environs) and six are located in Cebu.
74 Restaurants were also recognized as Michelin Selected. You can view all Recognized, Selected and Star Restaurants on the Michelin Guide Website
3 Special Awards (awarded to people who exemplify excellence and creativity)
- Young Chef Award – Chef Don Patrick Baldosano of Linamnam, Parañaque
- Service Award (Hospitality and guest experience) Erin Recto of Hapag
- Exceptional Cocktails Award (innovation in mixology) – Benjamin Leal of Uma Nota
The ceremony took place at the Manila Marriott Hotel, was televised live and – if Facebook and Instagram posts are anything to go by – was watched by most of the Philippines!
One of those viewers was Tots Ramirez of El Poco Cantina, in Malate – a Michelin Selected Restaurant. He missed out on attending the Ceremony because he thought the email invite was a phishing scam! Now that’s humble!
Congratulations to All Awardees!
TikTok DOT MOA Signed
The DOT (Department of Tourism) and TikTok signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Tuesday 21 October 2025, with TikTok reaffirming its commitment to empowering Filipino Tourism enterprises to reach more people via the platform.
“For small businesses, emerging creators, and the world’s biggest artists, TikTok is a catalyst for economic growth, cultural discovery and social impact” – Yves Gonzales, Head of Public Policy, TikTok Philippines.
The partnership aims to empower Tourism Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) with the knowledge and tools needed to better promote their services and products online.
This will be achieved through educational programs centered on producing impactful content, TikTok Live best practice, and utilizing the new and improved TikTok Advertising tools and formats.
The pilot program, dubbed Content Camp: Level Up with TikTok, will roll out in November 2025, with a one-day session for 50 DOT Accredited MSMEs in NCR & Cebu City
“The Department of Tourism fully embraces the utilization of digital platforms, including TikTok, to showcase the beauty the people and the story of the Philippines.” DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. “I am heartened to know that the Department of Tourism’s partnership with TikTok will promote responsible travel, reminding our visitors to respect our communities, protect our environment, and travel with purpose.”
Muslim-Friendly Philippines Travelogue Published.
The Muslim-Friendly Philippines Travelogue, developed in partnership with the New Perspective Media Group, was published on Tuesday 21 October 2025. The 3-Volume publication serves to showcase the diversity, beauty and inclusivity of the Philippines through a Muslim-Friendly lens.
The publication reinforces the Philippines as a rising destination for Muslim tourists, and a tourism industry that is driven by inclusivity.
The travelogue promotes the country’s historic sites, the deep roots of Islam in the nation’s heritage and communities, and celebrates its halal and Muslim-friendly offerings, taking readers on meaningful journey’s through culture, faith, and cuisine.
Volume 2 includes travel and road maps destinations, accommodations, and itineraries that are Muslim-friendly and designed for comfort and cultural respect.
Direct Cebu to Siquijor Flights Announced
Tourists will soon be able to travel direct to Siquijor from Cebu. Sunlight Air announced this week that the flights will start on December 15, 2025. The air carrier, which recently expanded its fleet to include a 68-seater plane, plans to offer four flights a week between Cebu and Siquijor.
Other routes offered by Sunlight Air are:
Boracay Clark
Boracay-Coron
Boracay-Siargao
Cebu-Clark
Cebu-Coron
Cebu-Manila
Cebu-Siargao
Clark–Boracay
Clark-Coron
Clark-Siargao
Coron – Boracay
Coron – Cebu
Coron – Clark
Manila-Cebu
Manila-Coron
Manila-Siargao
Siargao – Boracay
Siargao – Cebu
Siargao – Clark
Siargao – Coron
Siargao – Manila
Intramuros Passport Launched
The Intramuros Administration (IA) announced the launch of the Intramuros Passport on October 27, 2025, while signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Intramuros Merchants and enterprises.
The aim of the MOA is to strengthen the promotion of heritage tourism, and local enterprises within Manila’s historical Walled City.
The new Intramuros Passport, will cost 350PHP and give access to major historical sites in Intramuros, as well as exclusive deals, discounts, and special perks from the participating merchants and businesses, including:-
- The Manila Hotel Heritage Museum,
- White Knight Hotel,
- Barbara’s Food and Catering Services, Inc.,
- Café Intramuros,
- Bambike,
- Papakape,
- Bear in the Wall,
- In Café + Bar,
- Casa Nueva,
- Beanleaf,
- Casa Vera Studios,
- VJ’s Double Chicken,
- Cold Treats,
- Royal Café, and
- La Events Café.
Minimal PH Presence in the Tatler Best Awards 2025
Tatler recently released their 2025 100 Best of Awards Asia Pacific and, disappointingly, there was minimal presence of Philippine Businesses in the list.
Only three Philippine hotels and three Bars made it into the 100 Best Hotels and 100 Best Bars lists:
Tatler Best Hotels 2025 Asia Pacific:
- Amanpulo – Palawan, Philippines
- Nay Palad Hideaway – Siargao Island, Philippines
- Pangulasian – El Nido, Philippines
Tatler Best Bars 2025 – Asia Pacific:
- Fat Cat – Makati City, Manila, Philippines
- Ito – Makati City, Manila, Philippines
- Raion – San Juan City, Philippines
Six Philippine Restaurants made Tatlers 100 Best Restaurants:-
- Gallery by Chele – Taguig City, Manila Philippines
- Hapag – Makati City, Manila Philippines
- Helm by Josh Boutwood – Makati City, Philippines
- Inatô – Makati City, Manila, Philippines
- Mōdan – Quezon City, Philippines
- Toyo Eatery – Makati City, Manila Philippines
5 of those Restaurants went on to receive a Michelin Star/s on 30th October 2025.
NGO Traveler Platform Launched
A new platform has been launched that aims to connect travelers – who are looking to volunteer – with NGO’s around the world.
Travel By Purpose was created by Alexandra Münch, who wanted to make it easier for travelers to find meaningful volunteer opportunities, and for NGOs to promote their projects and initiatives to attract passionate individuals.
The platform is completely FREE for both travelers and NGO’s and it is easy to create a profile.
NGOs: Create a profile to showcase your projects and attract volunteers!
Travelers: Create a profile and find incredible opportunities to give back while you explore.
The World Travel Expo Philippine Pavilion bags Silver Award
The much talked about Philippine Pavilion, designed specifically for Osaka’s World Expo 2025, received the Silver Award for Exhibition Design.
The theme of the Philippine Pavilion was “Nature, Culture & Community – Woven Together for a Better Future.” Its uniquely woven facade featured more than 200 traditional weaving textiles by artisans from 18 different regions in the Philippines.
The Pavilion hosted cultural, heritage and culinary showcases, live exhibitions and performance and Ai-powered installations. It has been reported that the Pavilion attracted the highest foot traffic at the Expo.
The stunning and innovative pavilion was designed by Filipino architect Carlo Calma Consultancy Inc. and was a collaboration project with Japanese executive architect Cat Inc.
The Bureau International des Expositions, an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions, presented the award on Oct 13, 2025.
Industry News Updates: Global News
Scammers Pose As Booking.com
Be (In) Crypto reported this week that yet to be identified Phishers have posed as Booking.com and CoinBase in an attempt to scam cryptocurrency users.
Adverts and Invitations for a non-existent “Exclusive Crypto Travel Summit” in Dubai, were allegedly sent out via Booking.com’s own systems according to Bobby Ong, CEO of CoinGecko. Ong was the first to highlight the phishing campaign on his X account.
The Summit listed prominent Crypto celebrities, Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum co-founder) and Brian Armstrong (CoinBase CEO), as speakers.
In his post, Ong urged Booking.com to escalate the issue to its security team, and received a response from Booking.com’s official X account acknowledging the phishing emails and requesting further details to investigate.
Booking.com’s official response to this latest breach of their communications channels was to reiterate that it does not communicate via Telegram or WhatsApp, recommending users report and block suspicious contacts.
Booking.com recently confirmed a 900% increase in reported impersonation attempts targeting its users. Typical examples include customers of confirmed bookings receiving WhatsApp or Telegram messages advising that there is a problem with a payment or booking, with a link to make a new payment.
It sounds like the fire is coming from within Booking.com!
