PH scores back to back win in WTA Asia

TOURISM Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco expressed her elation as the Philippines is recognized as Asia's Leading Dive Destination and Asia's "Leading Beach Destination," while Intramuros reclaimed its title as Asia's "Leading Tourist Attraction" at the 29th World Travel Awards (WTA) 2022 held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on September 7.

"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. 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," said Garcia-Frasco in a video message sent to the WTA organizers.

WTA awarded the Philippines for the sixth time as the Leading Beach Destination in Asia besting India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, and at the same time, achieving the Asia's Leading Dive Destination title for four straight years since 2019, edging Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Garcia-Frasco noted that the dive citation from WTA only cements the premise of the Department of Tourism (DoT) in hosting the Philippine International Dive Expo (Phidex) 2022, which is considered as the country's largest platform to network and promote the dive industry.