For the third straight year, Cebu made it to the top 10 island destinations in the Asia/Indian Ocean region by the prestigious Conde Nast’s Traveler Magazine Readers’ Choice Awards for 2006.
Cebu maintained its eighth place finish last year in the region but it scored higher this year with 71 points compared to last year’s 69.5.
Cebu ranked seventh when it first emerged in the elite top 10 list of the best island destinations in the region in 2004.
But its ranking dropped a notch lower when its was overtaken by Lombok island in Malaysia last year.
Last year’s fourth placer, Maldives, is this year’s number one island-destination in the region.
Maldives received 91.5 points, knocking off 2005 winner Phuket in Thailand, which slid to number three spot at 81.8 points. It also ranked number one in the world.
Perennial favorite Bali in Indonesia overtook Phuket in the ranking to occupy the number two spot at 85.9 points.
Langkawi in Malaysia and Koh Samui where fourth and fifth placers with scores of 80.1 and 78.1, respectively.
The rest of the top 10 were Seychelles (sixth, with 77.8 points), Zanzibar (seventh, 71.7), Cebu (eighth, 71.0), Borneo (ninth, 63.2) and Mauritius (tenth, 62.7).
The Readers Choice Awards have been conducted by Traveler Magazine since 1998.
This year, 28,000 tourists participated in the survey and rated these destinations based on the activities, beaches, restaurants, lodging found on the islands as well as the friendliness of the residents.
Some 350,000 questionnaires were sent out to Traveller Magazine subscribers where they were asked to rate their choices for the different categories. The final tabulation was conducted by Media-mark Research, Inc., of New York City.
Traveler Magazine, considered as the world’s best travel magazine, has a worldwide circulation of around 750,000 a month and 1.8 million hits on its website monthly. Its readers have been described as the “most affluent, stylish and experienced travelers in the world.”
Traveler Magazine is published by Conde Nast along with Allure, Brides, GQ, Vogue, Vanity fair, Tattler and Wired.
The other entries from the Philippines that figured in the list were the exclusive Amanpulo resort in Palawan, which ranked 14th in the leisure hotels category in the Asia/Indian Ocean division with 86.27 points and the Peninsula Manila in the hotels category in the region with 93.7 points.
Shangri-La Mactan island resort and Spa ranked ninth last year in the resorts category in the Indian Ocean region. It did not make it the top 10 this year.
But the resort was included in the magazine’s Gold List of destinations for 2006 – the only entry from the Philippines. (PNA)
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