THREE Philippine islands made the cut in this year’s awards for Asia’s and World’s Best Islands by influential travel publication Travel + Leisure (T+L).
Palawan makes the grade as the world’s sixth-best island, with a grade of 90.04, falling from the top spot in 2016 and 2017. Cebu makes its first entry, rubbing elbows with the world’s best, and landing on eighth spot with a score of 89.10.
T+L readers voted for Java, Indonesia as the world’s best, receiving an overall score of 95.28.
While Boracay failed to snag any rank among the 15 world’s best islands, the now-shuttered resort island placed eighth among Asia’s 10 best islands with a score of 86.14. In 2017, Boracay was in third place among the world’s best islands.
In a piece published on July 10, writer Rebecca Ascher-Walsh said, “After two years of winning the No. 1 spot, the Philippine island of Palawan has been unseated, although it still makes an appearance on both this [top 10 islands in Asia] and the overall islands list thanks to its friendly locals, crystal-clear seas, and top-notch diving [don’t miss El Nido, with its limestone islets, and Coron Island, where you can dive among World War II shipwrecks].”
Of Cebu, Ascher-Walsh quotes a reader, who swam with whale sharks there, calling it a ‘once-in-a-lifetime experience.’”
The Department of Tourism (DOT) welcomed the results of this year’s awards, which was gathered from inputs by readers of the New York-based international magazine from November 6, 2017, to March 5, 2018.
In a news statement, DOT Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat said: “We are pleased with the results of this year’s Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards. Even Boracay, which is taking its beauty rest, still ranked among the best in Asia.”
She added, “It will be a challenge for us to regain the top spot next year. These rankings are votes from the public. We take it upon ourselves to further improve our services not just in Palawan but across the archipelago.”
Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan, was ordered closed by President Duterte for six months starting April 26, to give way to the government’s rehabilitation efforts. The waters on its east side had been found to be exceeding standard coliform levels, while a number of establishments on its main white beach were found to have violated easement ordinances.
Government agencies, however, have been quite secretive of its overall rehabilitation plan, and have yet to publish the names of the hotels, resorts and other commercial establishments that were found violating environment laws.
Yet, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has announced the island would open on schedule on October 26. He has said only those establishments fully compliant with all government regulations will be allowed to open on that date.
In a press conference in Boracay on July 8, he also promised that new policies would be put in place before October 26, to guide the operations of the island when it opens. “There are already proposals, policies and guidelines for the stakeholders. We already showed them our initial policies, which didn’t come only from us [the government], but were also given by tourists from other countries. [These are] observations on what should be fixed during the [island’s] rehabilitation; not just infrastructure but policies. We need these policies before we open. We need these new policies by August.”
For one, Cimatu noted that there will be a change in the traffic flow because the main road is still being widened. “We will speed up the concreting of the main road,” he vowed, explaining that the diversion road currently being constructed on the side of Bulabog beach was “delayed because of the two buildings,” that were blocking the path. But he stressed that those buildings had been cleared already.
In a recent presentation before the general membership meeting of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International Inc., DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Development Planning Benito C. Bengzon Jr. noted that “the Boracay experience is an ultimate lesson in balancing development and protecting the environment. Lessons learned are not for Boracay alone but also for the other island destinations around the country.”
He stressed the DOT will therefore ensure that national and environmental laws are enforced; green infrastructure projects are initiated; business stakeholders and communities are reoriented toward sustainable business and livelihood concepts; and rebranding is implemented.
About 1 million foreign visitors spent their holidays in Boracay in 2017, contributing some P56 billion in total tourism receipts. DOT officials expressed confidence that the government could still hit its 7.4-million foreign arrivals target for 2018 despite Boracay’s six-month closure.
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