October 25, 2016 | 10:49am
MANILA, Philippines — Readers of international magazine Condé Nast Traveler recently voted Boracay Island as the Best Island in the World of 2016 after failing to make it in the past two years.
"This itty-bitty island (10-square mile) in the Western Philippines is as close to the tropical idyll as you’ll find in Southeast Asia, with gentle coastlines and transporting sunsets. Add in a thriving nightlife scene, and you have one of the top tourist spots in the region," Condé Nast Traveler wrote.
"The aptly named White Beach is Boracay’s main draw, with powdery white sand and shallow azure water ideal for swimming and snorkeling," it added.
Boracay only ranked 12th and 13th, respectively in the last two years. However, it now bested other world-famous islands such as Bali, Indonesia (10); Tahiti, French Polynesia (15); and Santorini, Greece (17).
Aside from Boracay, two other Philippine islands made it to the Condé Nast’s Top 20 Best Islands in the World list. Palawan ranked second while Cebu landed to the fifth spot in the list.
This is the third time that one of the Philippines 1,107 islands topped the World 's Best Island list by Condé Nast readers. Palawan was named the world's best in 2013 and 2015.
Philippine Department of Tourism in New York representative Zenn Pallugna accepted the plaque of recognition on behalf of the country. The awards night where over 100 awardees were presented was held at the 1 World Trade Center in New York City.
Pallugna said that the international recognition of the country's top island destinations is a big boost to sustained tourism efforts which seek to encourage more travelers to visit the Philippines and experience its beauty and culture.
"The prestigious destination awards we garnered this year from the readers of American travel publications, such as Conde Nast Traveler and Travel+Leisure, reinforce our destinations’ image and ignite curiosity and interest of the affluent American travelers to visit the Philippines," Pallugna said.
This year, more than 300,000 travelers took part in the 29th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards Survey of Condé Nast to vote for their chosen islands.
Condé Nast is a premiere media company in the US renowned for producing high-quality content for the world’s most influential audiences that attracts over 164 million consumers across its 20 print and digital media brands, including The New Yorker, GQ, Golf Digest and Vogue. — Rosette Adel
