As the country's tourism industry is gradually reclaiming its glory, a better motivation arrives to be in its footing, as the Philippines was hailed by the renowned award-giving body, World Travel Awards as the Leading Dive Destination and Asia's Leading Beach Destination for this year.
Apart from the two commendations, the 29th WTA, which was held on Wednesday, 7 September in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam also cited Intramuros of the City of Manila as Asia's Leading Tourist Attraction by the WTA, dubbed the "Oscars" of the travel industry.
"The Philippines is a beautiful country and you (WTA) having given these awards is such an affirmation to all of our tourism stakeholders and workers who have greatly sacrificed throughout the pandemic. We look to the future with hope that through our combined efforts under the Marcos administration that has identified tourism to become a major pillar for economic recovery that not only will we survive the pandemic, but we will thrive, we will endure, and we will get back stronger than ever," said Tourism secretary Christina Garcia Frasco in a video message sent to the WTA organizers.
WTA awarded the Philippines for the sixth time as the Leading Beach Destination in Asia besting India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, and at the same time, achieving Asia's Leading Dive Destination title for four straight years since 2019, edging Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
According to Frasco, the dive citation from WTA only cements the DoT's premise in hosting the Philippine International Dive Expo 2022, which is considered the country's largest platform to network and promote the dive industry.
"We are ready to receive you in the Philippines. We look forward to your visit and I invite every one of you to visit our beaches, our dive sites, and our tourist destinations," Secretary Frasco added.
While citing Intramuros as a leading tourist attraction, it bested other competitors such as the Angkor Temples of Cambodia; Borobudur Temple Compounds of Indonesia; Ha Long Bay of Vietnam; Sengan-en and Shoko Shuseikan Museum of Kagoshima in Japan; Taj Mahal of India, teamLab SuperNature of Macao, Great Wall, The Forbidden City, and Terracotta Warriors, all in China; Tokyo Imperial Palace of Japan; and Victoria Peak of Hong Kong.
Secretary Frasco emphasized the significance of the WTA accolades to remind the government, as well as tourism stakeholders "that all of us have a shared responsibility towards the success of the tourism industry, not only in our country but in Asia and the world.
"We remain committed to purveying the Filipino brand of hospitality and to heralding the Filipino brand to the world," she said.
Conceptualized in 1993, the London-based WTA acknowledges excellence in the travel and tourism industry in three tiers: country, regional, and world awards across different categories.
