Sunday, November 15, 2009

Cebu voted the 7th Best Island Destination in Asia for 2009

I spent my formative and growing up years around Mactan (Lapu-Lapu City) and Cebu (Mandaue City, Cebu City, Sibonga etc.) So as an all-around(?) Cebuana, I couldn't be more happy and proud as I am now. As simple as that.

Thanks to Claire for posting about it as I was wondering what happened to Cebu's rank nowadays:  http://clairealgarme.multiply.com/journal/item/222/Cebu_maintains_rank_as_7th_best_island_destination_in_Asia

In Condé Nast Traveler: 2009 Reader's Choice Awards:
Under Asia and Indian Ocean, here is Cebu at #7! 
http://www.concierge.com/tools/travelawards/readerschoice/islands

........From Claire's site, here's her post (why reinvent a good thing?)

CEBU has retained for the third straight year its seventh ranking in the list of best island destinations in Asia by international Condé Nast Traveler magazine.  A Cebu resort, the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City has also maintained its ranking in the prestigious list.

Condé Nast Traveler magazine has recently released the results of the annual Readers’ Choice Awards 2009, a listing of the best cities, islands, hotels,  transportation and resorts worldwide.

At 72.6 points, this is Cebu’s ranking for the third straight year and the fourth time in the last five years.

Cebu got 70.9 in 2008; 72.3 in 2007 and 72.8 in 2004. It has been ranked 8th best island destination twice in 2006 with 71.0 points and in 2005, with 69.5.

Rounding up this year’s top 10 island destinations in the Asia/Indian Ocean group are:
Maldives-87.5, Bali-84, Phuket-79.9, Seychelles-76.7, Koh Samui-75.3,  Mauritius-74.1, Cebu-72.6, Langkawi-69.8, Borneo-65.4, and Lamu-63.6.

This year, Cebu, along with Maldives, Bali, Phuket, Langkawi and Borneo, maintained their rankings, while Mauritius slid down.

On the same survey, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, an 11.4 hectare resort in Mactan has maintained its position at 16th place with 88.5, lower by 5 points in last year’s score. The resort surpassed some resorts in Bali, Cambodia and Phuket; trailing behind resorts in Langkawi and Maldives in the resorts category. It is the only Philippine resort included in the 25 top Resorts in Asia.

Every year since 1988, a select sample of Condé Nast Traveler readers have taken the Readers’ Choice Survey.  This year, the questionnaire was available to all readers through a secure website.

The final tabulations of 25,008 responses this year were done by Madiamark Research Inc. of New York City.
* yours truly at Kawasan Falls, Cebu back in Dekada Noventa *

Last August, Cebu was also named 4th best island in Asia by another New York-based magazine Travel + Leisure,  when it released its World’s Best Awards 2009, a listing of the best hotels, airlines, cruises islands and cities all over the world.

Cebu got a rating of 79.68 points and trailed behind Bali (87.41), Maldives (84.43) and Phuket (80.93).
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31 comments:

  1. Claire MarieNovember 16, 2009 at 12:28 AM

    I've fixed the first link. Thanks for reposting. This is one good story that we should be proud about. :-)

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  2. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 1:50 AM

    Thanks Claire! ara, nauna na ako nag repost before seeing your reply...:-)

    yes, super-ubod proud ako dito...waaah..I want to go back to Cebu and continue to work there..nakaka-miss..baligtad ako..

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  3. Nona Enriquez-SchanowskiNovember 16, 2009 at 2:36 AM

    alam mo cuh, you're the best..the best tourism woman 2009!

    ayyyy..next time Cebu kami mag hang, for now, our visit is to spend precious time with my relatives, kaya Manila or Luzon muna kami..:)

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  4. Nona Enriquez-SchanowskiNovember 16, 2009 at 2:36 AM

    though the bood I blogged recently is in German, look into the "Leseprobe" browse the pages of that book, you'll find wonderful pics in Cebu..

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  5. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 3:04 AM

    Nonzki...dapat bitbitin mo relatives me here in Pinas to go to Cebu and hang out there for a while...cheaper din don kc...you can help boost pa the economy and tourism don..hahaha!

    Cebu is also quite near to the other islands...via boat you can just drop by either Bohol, Leyte, Dumaguete...or via plane (short hop lang) to Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Davao...

    being center in the Visayas region, you can use Cebu as a hub to visit all the other lovely places in the Philippines :-) ayan ha...di lang ako Cebu-lover..pati yung iba ring places because I've been there before and due to the friends we have there!

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  6. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 3:05 AM

    come again Nonzki..could you please post the link?

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  7. Virtual TedNovember 16, 2009 at 4:35 AM

    Congratulations to Cebu!

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  8. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 5:08 AM

    Thanks Ted *happy dance*

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  9. louella alixNovember 16, 2009 at 5:48 AM

    Amen to all this!

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  10. Nona Enriquez-SchanowskiNovember 16, 2009 at 6:16 AM

    Cebu is very familiar to me, I have lots of relatives there..kaya lang bonding muna kami..next time bitbitin ko na sila..gusto nga ng isang brother ko Bohol..ganoon pa man things are booked and decided na, I will just meditate and say my best prayer na something would turn around a lead us to Cebu in this visit this time..praying hard....hehehe..

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  11. Lav .November 16, 2009 at 6:43 AM

    congrats to Cebu and the Cebuano's Cebuana Friends..never been there so hopefully sometime in the Future..EBC ..EB Cebu :)

    Dekada Noventa..'90 ka pala ako Dekada Noventa Y Uno...ha ha ha anyway nice photo ..enjoy the rest of the evening

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  12. Boboy YonzonNovember 16, 2009 at 6:52 AM

    Congrats to Cebu and to you too. All the more that I should firm up our trip to Cebu.

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  13. Bert the Banana King QuibuyenNovember 16, 2009 at 12:36 PM

    Nakalista na ang Cebu sa aking itinerary pag umuwi ako. Just reading Cat's blogs on Cebu - the beaches, food - sold na ako. I think there's a Cathay Pacific flight from Vancouver to Cebu with a HK stopover.

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  14. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 9:08 PM

    lucky si Mommy Loy to be near to all the good things in Cebu :-)

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  15. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 9:09 PM

    45 minutes I think ang ferry between Cebu and Bohol..so you can actually have both islands to visit :-)

    mas ok nga ngayon eh..the last time I visited Bohol ages ago, it was at night and we arrived at dawn..parang 5 hours trip or something..

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  16. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 9:11 PM

    hi Val! oo..mag EBC nga!

    *grin* I meant in the picture above that I visited Kawasan back in the 1990s...this particular picture was taken during a trip with friends and fellow-scholars from Fujitsu ...

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  17. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 9:11 PM

    yeah, you've been there so many times, sayang talaga you don't go visit at least one or two places while on a trip there...:-(

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  18. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 9:18 PM

    that is good news to hear BNK..but I must caution you ha...its a far cry from Canada in terms of efficiency and cleanliness..and golly its swelteringly, humidly hot in Cebu :-)

    unahin mo muna kaya beaches dito...aside from Plantation Bay, Shangri-la Mactan is good...and though I've not visited it and Maribago Bluewaters..I think if they kept their standards before the same, it would be ok...

    I would say that unless you are a backpacker, the Philippine islands are best for arranged tours so you will not get entangled in hassles dealing with transpo and lodgings etc.

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  19. louella alixNovember 16, 2009 at 10:19 PM

    Have you been to Matayupan Falls in Barili?

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  20. CatH \(^_^)/November 16, 2009 at 10:33 PM

    unfortunately no, all my gimiks around Cebu seemed to have happened during my college and early after-college working years :-(

    but I checked your link..ok din ah...di pa sya ganon ka developed..pero pwede mag swim naman? wala kasi akong nakita cottages

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  21. louella alixNovember 16, 2009 at 11:13 PM

    That's why Iove it. Walang cottages to mar the view By the way, the cottages in Kawasan have been removed by order of the Governor who must have heard my constant rumblings about the cottages. he he he!

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  22. Bert the Banana King QuibuyenNovember 16, 2009 at 11:23 PM

    I hate organized tours. I'd rather be on my own pace. There might be some interesting surprises along the way, and I'm prepared to rough it up (can't if Helen is with me). Are there any bed and breakfast places in the Philippines?

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  23. CatH \(^_^)/November 17, 2009 at 12:20 AM

    honga, unless the cottages are designed in such a way to blend seamlessly into the surroundings, most of the time, eyesores lang..

    re Kawasan..ah...I guess grabe na gyod siguro sila ug plaster ug cottages all over, thats why you were not happy with 'em...late 80s there were very few cottages there...tapos when I visited again, another set had been added...

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  24. CatH \(^_^)/November 17, 2009 at 12:25 AM

    then, I'd recommend contacting an agency to arrange at least for the transpo and lodgings, not necessarily that you would go on the organized tour...unless you are the type to do lots of research and plan it all and book it all by yourself :-)

    there are b&b places in some areas of the Philippines, but not all may be on the internet...I'm sure meron sa Tagaytay, sa Sagada, Bohol..but shucks, I cannot cite any names in Cebu for those establishments :-( coz I've never tried it..but I know there will be..I just can't recommend coz I've never been there...

    however, your dollar or local currency will go a long way here BNK, so if I may suggest further, you can stay in one of the better hotels instead of b&b unless you are in a place where there are no other options.

    there are a lot of pension houses in Cebu from what I recall...and Bohol for one has resorts na pang-nature also...then for Tacloban, I have a friend who may also be able to help you if you are of a mind to visit the place...*isip-isip*

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  25. Nona Enriquez-SchanowskiNovember 17, 2009 at 2:51 AM

    for anyone, this is a serious company in internet, assisting in booking for Hotel and Hostels..they also get a hold of accredited resorts in the Phils.:


    http://www.southtravels.com/asia/philippines

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  26. CatH \(^_^)/November 17, 2009 at 3:25 AM

    hi Nona, is this what you used for your trip here? thanks!

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  27. angie williamsNovember 17, 2009 at 2:47 PM

    Oh how lovely...congrat to Cebu & all the beautiful Cebuanas...someday, we'll plan to visit Cebu...i heard a lot of great places & beautiful sceneries...kadamong kugar ka gid nagapunta...hehehehe...nagabisayan mang gid...hehehe...thanks Cat...

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  28. CatH \(^_^)/November 17, 2009 at 8:15 PM

    salamat Angie :-)

    daghan gyod nga lugar dapat adto-on diri sa Pilipinas...with more than 7K islands! phew!

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  29. Nona Enriquez-SchanowskiNovember 18, 2009 at 1:11 AM

    for our Banaue trip..
    supposed we would also use it for our Mindoro trip, but the Resort and I had finanlized on things..
    my contact here, Kristine is very nice and fast and answers at once your questions..she's from Dumaguete yata..

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  30. Nona Enriquez-SchanowskiNovember 18, 2009 at 1:12 AM

    but flying from here to Phils. I used an Ethni agency..A German-Filipina team..

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  31. CatH \(^_^)/November 18, 2009 at 11:05 PM

    thats good to hear...ayan..if may iba akong kilala in Germany (I've lost touch with my aunt's cousins there)...maibigay ko..TFS!

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