[ Manila Bulletin Online ] October 27, 2008
By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
BORACAY ISLAND, Malay, Aklan – Smart Travel Asia magazine has chosen the island of Boracay as one of Asia’s top 10 holiday destinations in its recent 2008 online poll.
It was gathered that the 2008 "Best in Travel" poll has ranked the island seventh for the second straight year by over one million online readers worldwide.
This paradise island resort is an ideal tropical beach destination that offers white sand beaches, blue waters, and great scuba diving sites.
Tourism officials said tourist arrivals for the past seven months hit more than 400,000 where 60 percent of the foreigners were Koreans and Chinese.
Bali in Indonesia was rated the best holiday destination in Asia for the third time, followed by the Thai island of Phuket; the South Indian idyll of Kerala; the island of Maldives; shopping mecca Hong Kong, and Bangkok in Thailand.
Palawan shared eighth place with Chiang Mai in Thailand, followed by Angkor, Cambodia, in ninth place, while Koh Samui, Thailand, and Rajasthan in India, shared tenth place.
It was also gathered that Mandala Spa Boracay was ranked 22nd in the top 25 list of the Best Asian Spa Resorts for this year, over a field of over 1,000 prime candidates.
