PH bags 8 major tourism awards; ‘Love’ slogan feted

ASIA’S BEST. Representatives from the Department of Tourism and the Tourism Promotions Board receive the country’s Asia awards. (Photo by Joyce Rocamora/PNA)

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Philippines bagged eight major tourism wins, including the best luxury island destination for Boracay, in the Asia category of the prestigious 2024 World Travel Awards (WTA).

The WTA Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony held at the City of Dreams Manila on Tuesday was the Philippines’ first time hosting the international awards body.

“It has been a privilege to host our first ceremony in the Philippines – a celebration that has served as a fitting showcase for this incredible destination and its historic capital Manila,” WTA Founder Graham Cooke said.

“Our winners are stellar examples of tourism excellence, and I congratulate each and every one for helping to raise the collective benchmark across Asia and Oceania,” he added.

The eight key awards won by the Philippines are

Asia’s Leading Marketing Campaign 2024 (Love The Philippines)

Asia’s Leading Luxury Island Destination 2024 (Boracay)

Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2024 (Intramuros)

Asia’s Leading Beach Destination 2024

Asia’s Leading Dive Destination 2024

Asia’s Leading Island Destination 2024

Asia’s Leading Wedding Destination 2024 (Cebu)

Transformational Leader Award in Tourism Governance (Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco)

In an interview, Frasco said the accolades serve as “a vote of confidence from the global travel community in the Philippines”.

“These awards are truly an affirmation of the Marcos administration’s drive towards tourism transformation into a tourism powerhouse,” she said.

She said the title secured by the country’s new tourism slogan, “Love The Philippines” also shows that the campaign is effective.

“(The award is an affirmation) that this campaign has opened the eyes of the world to the many nuances of the Filipino identity and our destinations,” she said.

“Through Love the Philippines, we aim to provide meaningful experiences that are personal and profound to the traveler that is able to introduce our country from the lens of our culture, our heritage, our festivals, our food, our arts, and many other tourism offerings,” she added.

Winners at the reception also included Vietnam, which took the title of “Asia’s Leading Destination,” with its Ha Giang province named “Asia’s Leading Regional Cultural Destination,” and Ho Chi Minh City as “Asia’s Leading Business Travel Destination”.

Hong Kong Tourism Board took to the podium as “Asia’s Leading Tourist Board” while Bali claimed the title of “Asia’s Most Romantic Destination”.

Ready for more

The Philippine hosting of the Asia & Oceania red carpet was praised by the WTA, a feat the DOT sees as a reflection of Manila’s readiness to hold more global events of such scale.

“In all of our history, I think this is one of the most beautiful events that any of the destinations has put on. The tourist board have been amazing, the hospitality of the Filipino people is amazing— it is, without doubt, the number one asset, the people of the Philippines,” Cooke said in an interview.

“With the 7000 plus islands, the size of the country, the future is amazing. You’ve just got to get the message out there because you have such a diversity in your tourism asset: adventure tourism, wellness, culinary, street food, the beaches, and the one thing that strings all of that together is the amazing people,” he added.

This is the fourth leg of the WTA Grand Tour 2024, with the three other regional ceremonies recently held in Berlin, Germany (Europe category); Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Middle East & Indian Ocean); and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Caribbean and the Americas).

The Africa Gala Ceremony will take place in Kenya on Oct. 18.

The winners of these ceremonies will then progress to the Grand Final in Madeira, Portugal on Nov. 24, where the World category awardees will be announced.