Bacolod is PH's most affordable tourist destination: report
The city of Bacolod in Negros is the cheapest tourist destination in the Philippines for April, an Asian digital travel platform reported.
Agoda said Bacolod is where travelers can enjoy the most competitive room rates, averaging P2,650 a night.
Dubbed as the "City of Smiles," Agoda noted how sweet and gentle the locals are, and how they give visitors a culinary experience to remember.
It advised travelers to visit Sharyn's Cansi House, home of the food of the same name which consists of beef shank, bone marrow, and the endemic batuan fruit which acts as a souring agent.
Agoda also noted the delicacy piaya, a flat bread filled with muscovado sugar and local glucose syrup, available on BongBong's Pasalubong Center.
Bacolod is also popular for its inasal na manok, the unique grilled chicken marinated in coconut vinegar (tuba), calamansi, tanglad (lemongrass), garlic, and ginger which is basted with annatto-infused chicken that gives it an appetizing golden color and additional umami. Agoda said Manukan Country, the cluster of eateries in the city, is the go-to spot for inasal na manok.
Agoda said tourists must also drop by Calea, a dessert shop specializing in chocolate mud pie, for the ultimate food trip experience.
Among other local destinations with the lowest average room rates in Agoda's list include Iloilo (P2,700), Dumaguete (P3,000), Davao City (P3,300), and Puerto Galera (P3,660).
Khon Kaen in Thailand topped the list with an average room rate of $30 (P1,600). It's home to coffee shops, night markets, and city lakes that seem to be hosting festivals year-round, Agoda noted.
Other affordable destinations in the Asia-Pacific region include Sibu in Malaysia, Surakarta in Indonesia, Puri in India, Ninh Binh in Vietnam, Chiba in Japan, Gwangju in South Korea, Kinmen Islands in Taiwan, and Brisbane in Australia.