Manila Times: DoT celebrates PH travel awards

The Philippines’ dive sites and Intramuros once again bagged accolades at the 27th World Travel Awards. The award-giving body recognized the Philippines as the World’s Leading Dive Destination and Intramuros as the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction in 2020.

“We are incredibly grateful for the recognitions given to the Philippines’ magnificent dive sites and the beautifully-restored heritage site of Intramuros at the 27th World Travel Awards. We will continue to promote sustainable, inclusive and world-class tourism, especially now as we slowly reopen our attractions to more domestic tourists,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

It is the Philippines’ second time to win the World’s Leading Dive Destination, besting eight different dive destinations such as Azores Islands, Bora Bora, French Polynesia, Cayman Islands, Fiji, Galapagos Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Maldives and Mexico.

Meanwhile, it is Intramuros’s first time to win World’s Leading Tourist Attraction, beating 15 different attractions such as the Acropolis of Greece, Burj Khalifa of Dubai, Grand Canyon National Park of USA, Mount Kilimanjaro of Tanzania and Taj Mahal of India, among others.

DoT has also recognized dive tourism as one of the key areas for positive industry growth, including increased visitor count, extended length of stay and higher tourism revenue.

The Philippines is home to the highest concentration of coral reef life and a variety of marine species in its world-renowned dive sites such as the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Palawan.