Earning numerous accolades from prestigious travel institutions
2023 proved to be a remarkable year for Philippine tourism, surpassing the target international visitor arrivals and reaching the five-million mark before year-end.
Under the leadership of the Department of Tourism, the country earned numerous accolades from prestigious travel institutions, including the World Travel Awards 2023 (WTA) held at Burj Al Arab in Dubai, UAE, in December.
The Philippines was honored with the inaugural Global Tourism Resilience Award, acknowledging the country's demonstration of “global leadership, pioneering vision, and innovation to overcome critical challenges and adversity.” Being one of just five countries acknowledged for this award, the Philippines sets the standard for best practices in tourism resilience.
In addition to this significant recognition, the Philippines was once again honored as the World's Leading Dive Destination, World's Leading Beach Destination, and World's Leading City Destination for Manila City.
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco expressed joy over these accolades, stating, “We are elated and grateful that Philippine tourism continues to soar to global prominence with tourists declaring their love for the Philippines as the undisputed World’s Leading Beach Destination and World’s Leading Dive Destination, and now World’s Leading City Destination, Manila.”
Frasco continued, “Receiving the Global Tourism Resilience Award is also especially meaningful as this is an affirmation of all the hard work done in the past year to strengthen the pillars of tourism development through convergence and collaboration towards the tourism transformation envisioned by our President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. These accolades are as much a source of Filipino pride as they are a testament to the enormous contribution of tourism to the Philippine economy and global standing.”