Manila Times: Philippines named world's best beach, dive destination

The Philippines added four major global recognitions as it bagged major accolades at the prestigious World Travel Awards 2023 held at the iconic Burj Al Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

For the first time, the Philippines was given the Global Tourism Resilience Award for demonstrating "global leadership, pioneering vision and innovation to overcome critical challenges and adversity."

As one of only five countries and destinations in the world cited for this inaugural award, the Philippines and the other "inaugural winners will serve as benchmarks for best practices in tourism resilience," according to the World Travel Awards.

The Philippines was, once again, awarded the World's Leading Dive Destination and World's Leading Beach Destination, defending its 2022 titles. For the first time, the Philippines also won the World's Leading City Destination for its capital, Manila.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco expressed immense joy in the country's victories at the World Travel Awards.

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"These accolades are as much a source of Filipino pride as they are a testament to the enormous contribution of tourism to the Philippine economy and global standing," said Frasco.

The award was received by Department of Tourism Undersecretary Shahlimar Hofer Tamano and Assistant Secretary Maria Rica Bueno, who represented the tourism chief during the awarding ceremony overseas.

Established in 1993, the 30th annual World Travel Awards aimed to acknowledge excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.