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Pilipinas 'best' beach, diving at tourist destination sa Asya ngayong 2022

Philstar.com

September 8, 2022 | 1:18pm

Pilipinas 'best' beach, diving at tourist destination sa Asya ngayong 2022

A vendor sells hats in front of the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros in Manila on August 22, 2010. In the shadows of an ancient cathedral in the Philippine capital, wilting horses attached to carriages shelter from the tropical sun as their drivers try to interest the few tourists milling around. Tourists generally skip old Manila in their rush to Boracay and some of the the Philippines' other tropical islands, but the new government of President Benigno Aquino is hoping to entice tourists to linger a little longer.

AFP/Noel Celis, File

MANILA, Philippines — Hinirang ng ika-29 World Travel Awards ang Pilipinas bilang "leading beach destination," "leading dive destination" at "leading tourist attraction" sa Asya ngayong 2022 — ang huli para sa Intramuros sa Maynila.

Ang parangal ay iginawad sa Vietnam nito lamang Miyerkules.

Ikinatuwa naman ng Department of Tourism ang back-to-back win na ito para sa Pilipinas, ito habang sinasabing patunay ito ng angking ganda ng Perlas ng Silangan.

"The Philippines is a beautiful country and you (WTA) having given these awards is such an affirmation to all of our tourism stakeholders and workers who have greatly sacrificed throughout the pandemic," ani Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, Huwebes, sa isang video message.

"We look to the future with hope that through our combined efforts under the Marcos Administration that has identified tourism to become a major pillar for economic recovery that not only will we survive the pandemic but we will thrive, we will endure and we will get back stronger than ever."

Ito na ang ika-anim na beses na nasungkit ng Pilipinas ang karangalang "leading beach destination in Asia" mula sa WTA, dahilan para mapangibabawan ang India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand at Vietnam.

Apat na sunud-sunod na taon nang nakukuha ng Pilipinas ang titulong "Asia's Leading Dive Destination" simula pa noong 2019. Ilan sa mga nakalaban ng bansa sa parehong kategorya ang Indonesia, Malaysia at Thailand.

Wika pa ni Frasco, sinesemento lang daw ng dive citation mula sa WTA ang "K" ng bansang i-host ang Philippine International Dive Expo (PHIDEX) 2022, na siyang kinukunsiderang pinakamalaking platform para i-network at i-promote ang dive industry.

Kamakailan lang nang maglaan ang Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD), isang attached agency ng DOT, ng P9.53 milyon mula sa gobyerno para sa mas matinding dive tourism promotion at development.

Dinaig ng Intramuros ang iba pang tourist attractions gaya ng Angkor Temples (Cambodia), Borobudur Temple Compounds (Indonesia), Ha Long Bay (Vietnam), Sengan-en at Shoko Shuseikan Museum of Kagoshima (Japan), Taj Mahal (India), teamLab SuperNature (Macao), Great Wall, Forbidden City at Terracotta Warriors (China), Tokyo Imperial Palace (Japan) at Victoria Peak (Hong Kong).

"We are ready to receive you in the Philippines. We look forward to your visit and I invite each and every one of you to visit our beaches, our dive sites and our tourist destinations," dagdag pa ni Frasco.

Saad pa ni Frasco na nananatili ang kanilang commitment na ipalaganap ang FIlipino brand ng hospitality at pagtatanghal ng Filipino brand sa buong mundo.

Itinatag noong 1993 ang London-based WTA para kilalanin ang husay sa travel and tourism industry sa tatlong tiers: country, regional, and world awards sa iba't ibang kategorya.

Tinatawag ito ng ilan bilang "Oscars" ng travel industry. — James Relativo