MANILA, Philippines — Philippines’ Zara Carbonell won the inaugural edition of Miss Tourism Worldwide held in Indonesia on Sunday.
On her Instagram account, Zara shared what she felt after winning the pageant.
“It’s 6 am and I’m watching the sunrise from a hotel suite in a beautiful underrated city and right at this very moment, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be,” she said.
“They say that your biggest wins come right after rock bottom and that right there is your silver lining. Those who know me well know all that I’ve had to lose and learn to get here and all the times I was ready to walk away from this dream and believed that maybe I just wasn’t cut out for it.”
“I’ve learned that if you give the universe enough freedom to decide when and how it manifests what you ask for, it shows up in the most unexpected ways. Things do make better sense in hindsight, thankful for all the setbacks, failures, and people who told me I’m better off not trying - you made me stronger. Grateful for all those who never left my corner even when I’d forgotten to believe in myself,” she added.
The Miss Tourism Worldwide pageant aims to promote tourism and cultural exchange among nations.
Miss Thailand was crowned as the 1st runner-up, followed by South Africa, France and Siberia.
Zara’s father, actor Cris Villanueva, excitedly announced on his Facebook page that the Philippines and her daughter won the pageant.
“We won, Philippines won!!! My daughter won!!! Congratulations to Miss Philippines Tourism Worldwide for winning Miss Tourism Worldwide in Batam Indonesia!!! Congratulations and I love you Zara,” he said.