CEBU MAINTAINS 7TH ISLAND RANK
Condé Nast poll: Plantation Bay still one of Asia’s best resorts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Boboi Costas, Contributor
For the third straight year, Cebu has retained its seventh ranking in the list of best island destinations in the world, while a Cebu resort, the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa 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.
“The big news is that, undaunted by tough times, our readers are still way out in front, discovering the coolest experiences, electing the top performers for every kind of service—and reaffirming an enduring passion for travel. Look no further for the most stimulating global stimulus package you could hope for,” the magazine says.
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.
Twice, it has been ranked 8th best island destination: in 2006 with 71.0 points and in 2005, with 69.5.
Rounding up this year’s top ten 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), Langkawi (69.
, 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. Seychelles and Koh Samui each earned one notch higher. Lamu, a new entrant, edged out Lombok at tenth place last year.
Borneo maintained its 9th ranking since it joined the list last year.
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 web site. The final tabulations of 25,008 responses this year were done by Mediamark Research, Inc., of New York City.
The annual Readers' Choice Awards is derived from the Readers' Choice Survey, the largest independent poll of consumers' preferences in the U.S.
Each candidate was rated, criterion by criterion, on a five-point scale: excellent, very good, good, fair and poor. Criterion scores, which represent the percentage of respondents rating a candidate excellent or very good, were averaged to determine the final scores.
In the islands category, candidates were rated in the following: activities, atmosphere/ambiance, beaches, friendliness, lodging, restaurants and scenery. Resorts were rated on activities/facilities, food/dining, location, overall design, rooms and service.
The island destinations were grouped into Caribbean and Atlantic; Pacific, Asia and Indian Ocean; North America and Europe. Top cities were grouped into Asia, U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East; the Americas, and Australia and the Pacific.
A separate list, The World’s Top 100, ranks hotels, resorts, and cruise lines that achieved near perfection, with no score below 92.6.
Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, a camp resort in Chiang Rai, along the Thai-Burmese border, clinched the top spot with 98.9.
No resort or hotel from the Philippines made it to this year’s list.
Four Manila-based hotels however made it to the Top 100 Hotels in Asia. They are Makati Shangri-La (no. 57, with 87.3), Pan Pacific (no. 64, with 86.6), The Peninsula Manila (no. 72, with 85.7) and new entrant Edsa Shangri-La (no. 87, with 83.6).
They were rated based on food/dining, location, overall design, rooms and service.
Cebu City was shut out from the top Asian cities category which lists Ubud (82.5), Bangkok (82.2), Hong Kong (81.3), Chiang Mai (80.9), Kyoto (80.2), Singapore (79.6), Shanghai (75.9), Jaipur (74.2), Tokyo (72.9), and Hanoi (69) in the top ten. They were rated on atmosphere/ambience, culture/sites, friendliness, lodging, restaurants and shopping.
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). The same magazine survey shut out Cebu from the coveted list of Top Islands Overall.
Condé Nast Traveler is an American magazine published by Condé Nast Publications which specializes in luxury travel and reviews of high-priced hotels, products, and services. In 2008, it was named one of the top 10 magazines in the U.S. by both Adweek and Advertising Age.
A UK edition, Condé Nast Traveller, uses the British spelling for the title. The format and content are very similar to the U.S. edition.
<------------------------------------------------------------->
VIVA CEBU!
Manlibre ta ang City hall nato......... Iced Tea ug Pan!
For this year....... Cebu has received 3 Major International Recognitions:
* 4th Best Island in Asia by Travel + Leisure Magazine (New York-based publication)
* 7th Best Island Destination in Asia by Condé Nast Traveler (an American magazine published by Condé Nast Publications)
* No. 1 Emerging BPO Site by Global Services and Tholons (Tholons - a New York-based advisory, investment and research company)
Cebu is 7th Best Island for 3 Straight Years!
Originally Posted by zenred
really makes you proud to be CEBUANO! dili pinoy ha, but purely CEBUANO!
Reply With Quote
Posting Permissions
