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Philippines is top beach and diving destination globally–World Travel Awards

By SAAB LARIOSA Published Nov 15, 2022 6:52 pm

There's no need to look farther than the Philippines if you want to take a scenic vacay this holiday.

Back in September, the Philippine tourism industry was already bagging awards from the World Travel Awards' Leading Beach and Dive Destinations in Asia. This time around, we're taking over the world.

The tropical country has been hailed for two awards during the 29th World Travel Awards: the World's Leading Dive Destination and the World's Leading Beach Destination.

The ceremony held in Oman last Nov. 11 saw big names and heavy hitters of the travel and hospital industry witness how the Philippines was awarded the two coveted global crowns.

This year marks the first time that the country won the Leading Beach category, besting fellow sunny places such as Jamaica, Greece, Santa Monica, California, Turks and Caicos Island,  Mexico, Thailand; Maui, The Maldives, and Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.

This is also our fourth time winning the World's Leading Dive Destination. Adding to the list, Amanpulo in Palawan was also awarded as the World's Leading Dive Resort of 2022.

Other local names also won big that night, such as City of Dreams Manila as the World's Leading Casino Resort and Ascott Bonifacio Global City as the World's Leading Serviced Apartments.

"These global victories for the Philippines evince the unparalleled beauty of our country and the distinct warmth of the Filipino people," said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco.

"We sincerely thank the World Travel Awards and everyone from all over the world whose vote of confidence is timely as the Philippines fully opens its arms to welcome tourists to our shores."

2022 has been a big year for the Philippine islands as travel slowly returns. Just this October, Condé Nast Traveler hailed Boracay and Palawan as one of the best islands in Asia based on an international survey filled out by nearly a quarter of a million travelers from around the world.