Boracay takes 3 prizes at Travel+Leisure awards

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines walked away with three major awards at the Travel+Leisure Magazine’s World’s Best Awards 2012 held at the newly opened Conrad Flagship Hotel in New York on July 19.

Chosen by readers of the travel publication, this year’s awardees included Boracay Island, which was voted World’s Best Overall Island and Asia’s Top Island.

Discovery Shores Boracay was voted Asia’s Top Hotel Spa at the Travel+Leisure Magazine’s World’s Best Awards 2012.

One of the top hotels in the island, Discovery Shores, Boracay, meanwhile, was voted Asia’s Top Hotel Spa.

The winners were announced earlier by the magazine’s editor Nilou Motamed on the US morning TV show, “Today,” on July 6.

Vernie Velarde-Morales, tourism representative of the Department of Tourism (DOT) office in Chicago and concurrent officer-in-charge of the DOT office in New York, and Abigail Yap, the wife of Malay Mayor John Yap received the awards in behelf of Boracay.

Discovery Shores general manager Jose C. Parreño accepted the award for the hotel

The awarding ceremony was also attended by Deputy Consul General Theresa Dizon-de Vega, Filipino Reporter publisher Bert Pelayo, Fairways and Blue Waters Resort, Boracay chairman Wilbur Chan, Discover Suites resident manager David Pardo de Ayala, and Filipino-American entrepreneur and former President of the Aklan Association in the US Northeast Ray Rogan.

Filipino-American special projects editor of Travel+Leisure Irene Edwards was also at the event.
 
The awards were handed out by Travel+Leisure Magazine editor-in-chief Nancy Novogrod and the magazine’s vice president and publisher Jean-Paul Kyrillos

Other major winners included Red Mountain Resort, Ivins, Utah (Top Destination Spa), Singita Grumeti Reserves, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania (Top Hotel), Bangkok (Top City), Singapore Airlines (Top International Airline), and Virgin America (Top Domestic Airline).

The World’s Best Awards, now on its 17th year, is an annual tribute to the world destinations, hotels, resorts, tour operators, cruise lines, airlines, and other major tourist services which have been voted by readers of the magazine as being the best in the world.

According to Novogrod, for the 2012 awards, an unprecedented number of the magazine's readers cast their votes for their favorite travel destinations.

She also said the awards for Boracay and Discovery Shores were both well-deserved and speak volumes about the lasting positive impressions made by these Philippine destinations.

Discovery Shores also ranked No. 5 on the list of top 100 hotels in the world and No. 2 among the top resorts in Asia.

“This is an affirmation of our unwavering commitment to giving our guests unmatched service standards complemented by our dedicated staff and our world-class facilities,“ Parreño said in a statement.