This undated photo shows Tubbataha Reef in Puerto Princesa.
MANILA, Philippines —The Philippines is once again among the nominees as “Asia’s Best” at the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2024.
This year, it is competing for at least seven accolades for the WTA, the London-based awarding body that recognizes excellence in the travel and tourism industry. The Philippines’ nomination includes the following:
- Asia’s Leading Beach Destination
- Asia’s Leading Dive Destination
- Asia’s Leading Island Destination
- Intramuros – Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction
- Boracay – Asia’s Leading Luxury Island Destination
- Cebu – Asia’s Leading Wedding Destination
- Department of Tourism – Asia’s Leading Tourist Board
The awarding body hails tourism’s best in three tiers: country, regional and world awards across different categories. Established in 1993, it is touted as the “Oscars” of the travel industry.
For Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, the accolades of the Philippines highlights the efforts of her agency under the current administration.
She is thankful for the WTA body for providing the Philippines a platform “to continuously showcase our diverse tourism offerings not only within Asia but on the global stage.”
“…Most importantly, we express our thanks to our tourism stakeholders who continue to safeguard the myriad of tourism gems in the Philippines for all the world to love and enjoy,” Frasco said in a statement.
“While winning these accolades adds prestige to our endeavors, they also translate into livelihood opportunities for millions of Filipinos whose well-being depends on tourism. We aim to maintain and surpass the strides we’ve made since taking office, ensuring sustained growth in the country’s tourism sector,” she added.
Frasco also cited that 2023 was a banner year for the Philippines after it bagged several recognitions from WTA.
It won the World’s Leading Dive Destination for the fifth year since 2019 while Philippine capital, Manila, was named the World’s Leading City Destination.
The Philippines also took home the Global Tourism Resilience award, an inaugural award from the WTA about the “global leadership, pioneering vision, and innovation to overcome critical challenges and adversity.” Four other countries received this award, serving as benchmarks for best practices in tourism resilience.
Likewise, the Philippines was hailed the Destination of the Year by online travel platform TripZilla at the 2023 TripZilla Excellence Awards as well as Asia’s Best Cruise Destination by the WTA.
The public can vote for the Philippines until July 28, 2024, through https://www.worldtravelawards.com/vote.
