THE Philippines and the Department of Tourism (DOT) have landed nominations in the prestigious World Tourism Awards (WTA) 2021.
In a news statement, the DOT said the Philippines has been nominated as Asia’s Leading Beach Destination and Asia’s Leading Dive Destination. Cebu is also nominated as the Asia’s Leading Wedding Destination.
The DOT has also been shortlisted as Asia’s Leading Tourist Board. The agency added that Intramuros was automatically nominated for the Leading Tourist Attraction in the Asia and world categories, having won the same in last year’s awards.
“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 in its 28th run this 2021,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat in the same news statement.
“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 WTA has opened voting across all regions worldwide for this year’s program. Travel professionals, media and consumers are invited to vote for their favorite travel brands, said the awards body in a separate news statement.
Categories cover the entire spectrum of the travel and tourism industry, and range from hotels, resorts and destinations to airlines and tour operators.
The general public and travel industry executives alike are eligible to vote. They can cast their vote via the WTA. The nominee in each category which receives the most votes will be announced as the 2021 World Travel Awards winner.
WTA was established in 1993 to acknowledge excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the WTA brand is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.
The 2021 WTA online voting period for Asia is from March 30 to August 16, 2021. Online users may simply register for an account on the WTA portal using a valid e-mail address. After an e-mail verification, registrants will be able to cast their votes.
In addition, 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 10 votes.
“On behalf of the DOT, I am enjoining our industry stakeholders, as well as 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,” said the DOT chief.
Prior to the pandemic, the Philippines tourism industry had been growing steadily, reaching 8.26 million foreign visitors in 2019, and 110 million domestic travelers.
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