Top PH Gems revealed

THE PHILIPPINES’ next “Boracays and Palawans” have been named.

These next mainstream tourist destinations dubbed “Philippine Gems,” were revealed recently, following a nationwide search spearheaded by Isla Lipana and Co., the Philippine member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

According to Isla Lipana, these 10 Philippine Gems were Apo Island, Batanes, Biri Rock Formation, Calaguas Islands, Caramoan, Danjugan, Lake Sebu, Mt. Kanlaon, Panglao Island and Tubbataha.

These so-called emerging destinations were chosen from an initial list of 25 by the public through online voting, which was opened from June 26 to September 25.

Emerging destinations are areas that have the tourism potential but are yet to be recognized as a prospective vacation itinerary by local and foreign tourists.

“The search for the 10 Philippine Gems [project] envisions the upholding of both domestic and foreign tourism that would hopefully encourage business investments,” said Isla Lipana chair and senior partner lawyer Alexander Cabrera.

“The Philippine Gems [project] steers awareness and appreciation for the country’s pristine and natural sites, even the underdeveloped ones. In our modest way, we aim for these places to gain local and international attention, and in due course, greater economic activity,” Cabrera added.

The Philippine Gems project, which is part of the audit firm’s 91st anniversary celebration and corporate social responsibility program, is seen to to help the government boost tourist arrivals to 10 million by 2016, as it provides both local and international tourists more options for their stay in the country.

The project was made possible with the help of the Philippine Tourism and Promotion Board of the Department of Tourism and the University of the Philippines-Asia Institute of Tourism, which were part of the screening committee together with representatives from the Management Association of the Philippines and FleishmanHillard Manila, travel blogger James Betia and media personalities Love Añover and Jing Lejano and ace director, Jose Javier Reyes.

The firm started with a list of 175 destinations gathered from their employees and online travel bloggers and trimmed this down to 50. The screening committee agreed on a shortlist of 25 destinations which were opened to public online voting to determine the 10 Philippine Gems.