SUBIC Bay Freeport—As a testament to the successful sports tourism program of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the Subic Bay Freeport again sparkled in the search for the best tourism destination of the year in Asia.
Subic Freeport romped away with the bronze award for “Best Sports Tourism Destination of the Year” in this year’s Sports Industries Awards and Conference Asia (SPIA Asia), beating countries like China, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and India.
SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator Ramon Agregado and SBMA tourism manager Jem Camba received the award during the Third SPIA Asia Awards Gala 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand, recently.
The SPIA Asia awards is held annually to celebrate the brands, agencies rights holders, marketers, venues and destinations, and organizations, which positively influence the sporting landscape in Asia.
Entry to the awards is free and the judging rigorous, with about 400 entries this year and a panel of more than 37 international experts who judged the entries to determine the gold, silver and bronze winners.
The awards included four local and 14 Asian award categories, three public voted categories and one achievement category.
“The SPIA Awards again highlighted the attractiveness of Subic as a natural setting for sports competitions, and confirmed SBMA’s success in sustaining sports as a pillar of the local tourism industry,” SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma said.
Subic won the gold award for best destination in the SPIA Asia awards in 2017. This year, the gold award went to Melbourne, Australia, while the silver went to Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates.
Agregado said it was a “great achievement” for Subic to win awards in succession, considering the large number of entries vying for honors.