Ranked among the Top 15 of IMTI 2026, Gorontalo strengthens its position as a Muslim-friendly tourist destination.

Gorontalo Province has marked an important milestone in tourism sector development, having successfully qualified as one of 15 participants in the 2026 Indonesia Muslim Travel Index (IMTI). This achievement sends a positive signal that Gorontalo is increasingly gaining recognition as a Muslim-friendly tourism destination at the national level.

This success was attained after Gorontalo passed the curation and assessment stages conducted by the Ministry of Tourism together with the Enhaii Halal Tourism Center (EHTC). The designation is formally stated in Ministry of Tourism Letter Number B/SD/7/UM.00.01/D.2.4/2026 dated 30 July 2026.

Out of 20 total provinces that underwent administrative selection and initial assessment, Gorontalo entered the top 15 regions eligible to proceed to the data and evidence validation stage.

Prior to this, the Gorontalo Provincial Government, through its Office of Tourism, Creative Economy, Youth and Sports, had prepared all required documents and supporting data as registration prerequisites for IMTI 2026.

All submitted documents then went through verification and curation processes aligned with official indicators set by the Ministry of Tourism.

This accomplishment is the product of cross-party collaboration to prepare all administrative requirements and supporting evidence that demonstrate Gorontalo's readiness as a halal tourism destination.

"This achievement comes from joint collaboration across parties preparing documents, supporting data, and all forms of evidence that reflect Gorontalo's readiness as a Muslim-friendly tourism destination," stated Sultan Kalupe, Head of the Gorontalo Provincial Office of Tourism, Creative Economy, Youth and Sports.

Advancing to this next stage is not the end of the process. The Gorontalo Provincial Government is now preparing for the upcoming data validation phase, which will determine the final IMTI 2026 assessment results.

As a follow-up measure, the Ministry of Tourism has invited all qualified provinces to attend the 2026 Indonesia Muslim Travel Index Study Data and Evidence Submission Workshop, which will be held virtually on Friday 31 July.

The workshop aims to align standardized understanding, and verify that all supporting data submitted by each region meets the official assessment indicators.

The Gorontalo Provincial Government is currently focusing on refining the validation process in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism.

All regional government working units, tourism industry operators, academics, community groups, as well as district and municipal authorities will be engaged to ensure all assessment indicators are fulfilled optimally.

This step demonstrates Gorontalo's commitment to building a halal tourism ecosystem that does not rely solely on destination potential, but also on service quality and full stakeholder readiness.

For Gorontalo, successfully entering the top 15 of IMTI 2026 also serves as critical momentum to boost regional competitiveness amid the growing Muslim-friendly tourism trend across Indonesia.

Recognition as a Muslim-friendly tourist destination is expected to attract significantly higher volumes of both domestic and international visitor arrivals.

Beyond expanding regional tourism outreach, this achievement also carries strong potential to drive positive local economic growth across the hospitality, culinary, transport sectors, right down to micro, small and medium enterprises.