Philippine tourism sites, DOT secure nominations at Asia Edition of 2021 World Travel Awards
MANILA, Philippines —The Philippines and the Department of Tourism were once again included in the list of nominees for the 2021 World Travel Awards Asia Edition.
“I am very excited to share with you that, once again, the organizers of the WTA have shortlisted the DOT and the Philippines for multiple awards under the Asia category of its annual program, which is now on its 28th run this 2021,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat shared.
“In addition to our efforts to expand the source markets for the Philippines and prepare for the eventual relaxation of our travel restrictions, we also put equal importance in maintaining the country’s image as a top-of-mind destination among international travelers through the help of notable industry platforms such as the WTA,” she added.
The Philippines secured two nominations this year— Asia’s Leading Beach Destination and Asia’s Leading Dive Destination, while the DOT was nominated as the region’s Leading Tourist Board.
Cebu was also shortlisted under the Asia’s Leading Wedding Destination category.
On the other hand, Intramuros remains to be a nominee for Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction since it is the title holder for the same award in both the World and Asia categories in WTA last year.
title holder for both the Asia and World Leading Tourist Attraction categories in 2020,
WTA, established in 1993, is one of the most prestigious and comprehensive global recognition bodies that aims to “acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.”
How to vote
This year, the public and travel industry stakeholders can vote for the Asia-WTA nominees until August 16. The voting period started March 30.
Votes by regular users count as one, while votes cast by travel industry voters count as two.
To vote, the DOT said online users should register to create an account on the WTA portal: https://www.worldtravelawards.com/nominees/2021/asia. using a valid e-mail address.
“After an e-mail verification, registrants will be able to cast their votes. Additionally, users who are members of the travel industry have the option to apply for an upgraded WTA account by providing additional details such as company name and association number upon registration and fulfilling the minimum requirement of ten votes,” the DOT said.
Puyat encouraged Filipinos to vote for Philippine nominees.
“On behalf of the DOT, I am enjoining the support of our industry stakeholders, and Filipino and foreign travelers to support the Philippines in the 2021 WTA. By casting our votes, we can show that the Philippine tourism industry is alive and even more determined to bounce back, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
Last November, Philippines’ dive sites and famed walled city Intramuros were hailed World’s Leading Dive Destination and World’s Leading Tourist Attraction in 2020, respectively.
The following country’s tourism gems were also nominated for the respective WTA categories last year :
- World’s Leading Beach Destination 2020: Philippines
- World’s Leading Island Destination 2020: Siargao
- World’s Leading Tourist Board 2020: the Philippines, Department of Tourism
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