By Richa Noriega
The Philippines has ranked eighth in a list of the Top 20 countries favored by travelers, according to the annual Condé Nast Traveler awards.
Boracay Island (TARA YAP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
For its 32nd annual survey, the New York-based luxury and travel magazine saw the entry of the Philippines in the coveted list based on the votes of some 600,000 registered readers.
The Philippines garnered a score of 90.63 in the tightly-contested list, which was topped by Indonesia with 92.78 points.
The other countries in the list were Thailand (92.37), Portugal (91.94), Sri Lanka (91.79), South Africa (91.59), Peru (91.28), Greece (91.18), Italy (90.62), Vietnam (90.46), Turkey (90.15), Japan (89.74), Mexico (89.7), Tanzania (89.62), Israel (89.54), Colombia, (89.41), New Zealand (89.11), Ireland (89.08), Cambodia (89.03), and Croatia (88.83).
The travel magazine released the list of winners last October 7, 2019.
In the same Reader’s Choice Awards, Boracay was hailed as the best island in Asia. It was followed by Cebu and Visayas Islands in second place, while Palawan ranked fourth in the same category.
It described Boracay as “a tropical idyll as you’ll find in Southeast Asia, with gentle coastlines and made-for-Instagram sunsets.”
“Fold in a thriving nightlife scene, and you have one of the top tourist spots in the region,” it added.