Despite the travel advisory issued by Australia against Philippines, Travel.com.au, an Australian travel website cited our country as one of the top holiday destinations in 2011 based on travel trends and statistics. Reason is "Philippines becoming increasingly popular due to the political unrest in Thailand and its untapped beaches". Brazil and India are also included in a suggested list of destinations, travel tips and airlines for next year. Brazil’s affordable airfares and its rich cultures, interest in India are cited too. USA and New Zealand are also in which were described as “old favorites”.
Also in the report is summarizing the holiday patterns of Australian travelers such us booking their travel 2-3 months early to save, adventure tours & cruises as popular holiday options and average number of days they spend on holidays which in Asia is seven days. Australia is one of the six countries (others are US, UK, Canada, New Zealand & France) that issued a travel advisory against Philippines few months ago citing “high threat of terrorist attack and high level of serious crime”. Australia and France revised and reissued its travel advisory after a month removing the “terrorist attack threat” but the rest of advisory remained as is.
Aside from the famous Boracay, another one rising is the Pamalican Island or known as Amanpulo is named as one of the world’s most romantic travel spots by Travel and Leisure Magazine. Hollywood celebrities Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Samuel Jackson, Mariah Carey, model Claudia Schiffer, illusionist David Copperfield and boxer Erik Morales are a few who visited the place. To get to this place is through a scheduled charter flight which will cause not less than $300 for the flight alone. It offers a complete luxury which an average Filipino or even the above - average can't afford yet.
Source: Top holiday hotspots for 2011 by Kate Schneider
Hollywood Stars in Palawan by Cebu Pac's Smile Magazine May 2010
No comments