Palawan cited as one of world’s ‘most desirable islands’

The country's top tourist destination, Palawan, has been hailed as one of the world's "Most Desirable Islands" in the 21st Wanderlust Travel Awards by the United Kingdom-based travel magazine Wanderlust.

The country's Tourism Board, through the Philippine Department of Tourism-Central Visayas Office, also placed sixth among hundreds of special entries in the Wanderlust Sustainability Initiative Category for its Dive7 Program.

The awards were given on 9 November by the prestigious Wanderlust travel magazine, one of the UK's longest-running publications and which has been at the forefront of sustainable travel for 29 years.

Cebu was also nominated this year as "Most Desirable Region (Rest of the World)" by the magazine.

"On behalf of the Department of Tourism, we thank the readers of Wanderlust Magazine for their love and support for the Philippines," said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, who led the Philippine delegation to the World Travel Market recently held in London.

"These awards reflect the efforts to revive the tourism industry that are well underway, especially because of the Marcos administration's thrust towards prioritizing tourism development. Rest assured that we will continue with our mission to herald the Philippines and the Filipino brand to the world, and to ensure the continued sustainability of our islands," Frasco added,

These new awards add to the long list of recognitions the country has earned even at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.

In June this year, Conde Nast Travel also named the Philippines as part of the "40 Most Beautiful Countries in the World," specifically citing the remarkable cave system of the Puerto Princesa Underground River, the mysteriously uniform Chocolate Hills of Bohol, and the panoramic views of the Banaue and Cordillera Rice Terraces.

The following month, the renowned Travel + Leisure magazine also named the country's tourist magnets Boracay, Palawan, and Cebu among the "25 Best Islands in the World."

TIME Magazine also lauded Boracay as one of the "50 World's Greatest Places of 2022."

In September, the Philippines, yet again, was cited as Asia's leading dive and beach destination, and the historic Walled City of Intramuros as Asia's leading tourist attraction, at the World Travel Awards in Vietnam.