Baguio City, tagged as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines," and Ilagan City in Isabela have been recognized as among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) Clean Tourist Cities in this year's ASEAN Tourism Standards Awards.
According to the Department of Tourism (DOT), several hotels, as well as MICE or Meetings, Incentives, Convention and Exhibition venues in the country have been recognized by the international award-giving body.
Nobu Hotel, Nuwa Hotel, Hyatt Regency, and Conrad Manila were recognized as among the best in the ASEAN Green Hotel Award
For MICE Awards, included in the top five winners were Conrad Manila's Forbes Ballroom, Quest Plus Conference Center Clark's Magellan Ballroom, and Baguio Country Club's William Cameron Forbes Ballroom.
Astoria Palawan's Mangrove Conference and Convention Center and Widus (Clark Marriott Hotel) Marriott Grand Ballroom were also recognized in the venue award's meeting room category.
Meanwhile, the World Trade Center in Metro Manila and the Cordillera Convention hall in Baguio City were named as MICE Venue awardees under the exhibition venue category.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat lauded the recognition of the country's tourist destinations and establishments, adding that this only reflects their commitment to maintain the highest standards in the tourism industry despite the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
"This recognition of our local cities, hotels, and MICE venues not only serves as a testament to the Philippines' commitment to uphold the best tourism standards, it also mirrors the strong Bayanihan spirit we have exhibited to overcome this crisis," Puyat said.
"The current health crisis is a bane of the industry. Nevertheless, local tourism offices and our stakeholders aren’t backing down from this. By collaborating to help find solutions, they have proven that they can adapt despite the current limitations on their operations," she added.