Breaking Travel News interview: Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, minister of tourism, the Philippines | Focus

World Journey Awards, the top authority that recognises and benefits excellence in tourism, has revealed its Asia and Oceania 2021 winners.

The Philippines has a great deal to rejoice, acquiring been recognised as between the most effective in the area by voters.

Listed here Breaking Vacation News speaks to Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, minister of tourism for the Philippines, to uncover out how it feels to have gained.

Breaking Vacation Information: Congratulations on your victory at the Planet Vacation Awards – with the Philippines acquiring been honoured with the titles of Asia’s Leading Beach front Destination and Asia’s Top Dive Desired destination. How does it really feel to have received?

Bernadette Romulo-Puyat: This is the fifth time that the Philippines received as Asia’s Leading Beach Location and the 3rd time as Asia’s Primary Dive Place.

But every single yr that we get is special since it not only proves the remarkable attractiveness of our islands, but also validates our sustainable endeavours in acquiring and marketing our all-natural locations.

These awards are even more significant through these demanding times as they are manifestations of the enduring cooperation that we have with our tourism stakeholders and field in direction of restoration.

BTN: What is it that makes diving in the Philippines so unique – what do you imagine captivated the eye of voters?

BRP: The Philippines, recognised as the centre of worldwide marine biodiversity, is dwelling to biologically diverse marine and aquatic sources.

The Philippines “has it all,” from the smallest critters to pelagic animals, there is a dive place for each form of diver, no matter whether you are an underwater photographer, a dive fanatic or a rookie.

Diving in the Philippines delivers a wide wide variety of extraordinary sights and activities like discovering caves and World War II shipwrecks, drifting by way of enormous reef walls teeming with marine everyday living, and even blackwater diving, an serious sort of evening dive around deep oceanic waters.

On top of all these spectacular underwater sights, diving in the Philippines is yr-spherical and it is all in heat, crystal distinct waters with excellent visibility.

With diving alternatives that bring in divers with a extensive array of pursuits, excellent assistance from very well-skilled and expert dive experts and locals, and genuine Filipino hospitality, the Philippines certainly is dwelling to some of the world’s very best scuba diving.

BTN: How will you be using the award to market the Philippines as we head into 2022?

BRP: These awards will surely boost our endeavours to hold the Philippines a prime-of-head location for visitors all more than the term as we await the resumption of worldwide leisure vacation to the place.

Sunlight and beach, as effectively as diving, are among the our prime tourism solutions, and we have also produced new tourism circuits that are attuned to the new usual vacation tastes.

These recognitions make the Philippines an proven beach front and dive destination, and can be our soar-off place in advertising and marketing new offerings, collectively with our initiatives to be certain compliance with world-wide wellbeing and security criteria.

BTN: Ultimately, can you inform us a very little about the temper among the tourism sector in the Philippines – where by is the spot with the recovery from Covid-19?

BRP: Tourism has been a considerable pillar of Philippine economic progress in excess of the earlier ten many years considering the fact that the enactment of the tourism act of 2009, but with the arrival of the pandemic, it also turned just one of the most difficult hit sectors owing the restriction on vacation and closing of borders.

In the midst of this pause, our tourism stakeholders have been very individual – they have an understanding of that everyone’s wellness and security occur initially, and that the a lot quicker we can curb an infection rates, the more quickly we can reopen the industry.

At current, we have been gradually reopening locations to domestic travelers in regions that are deemed all set based mostly on the assessment of the National Job Force In opposition to Covid-19, and involved nearby federal government models.

From what we have noticed, the Filipinos’ hunger for travel stays strong.

With the Philippines’ strong domestic tourism base, we continue being optimistic about the potential customers of tourism despite the problems posed by the pandemic.

The locations that have so much reopened to travellers from all in excess of the place include the Philippines’ crown jewel, Boracay Island, the award-winning island places of Cebu, and El Nido and Coron in Palawan, the country’s surfing money of Siargao, and other beautiful spots in close proximity to Metro Manila this sort of as Clark, La Union and Ilocos Norte.

This pandemic has supplied the Philippines’ tourism business a exclusive prospect to investigate, produce, and fortify all the amazing locations and functions that we have in buy to supply a better travel working experience for holidaymakers in the new normal.

Far more Information and facts

Uncover out much more about visiting the Philippines on the formal web-site.