With the Philippines banking so much on tourism, having crowd-sourced travel website TripAdvisor declare the Philippines fourth on a list of top 10 Asian “destinations on the rise” is good news. Or, at the very least, big news, going by these stories on the Philippine Star and on DZMM TeleRadyo.
The DZMM story goes, and no translation will be provided:
Sinabi pa ng report na ang naturang pagkilala sa Metro Manila ay matapos mailunsad ng Department of Tourism (DOT) ang bago nitong campaign na “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” kung saan pinapakita na maraming maaaring gawin sa Ka-Maynilaan tulad ng shopping, clubbing, dining at iba pang entertainment at lifestyle offerings.
To be fair, the Yahoo news report that both the Philippine Star and DZMM cite did not say that. The story merely said the “recent accolade for Manila comes as the Department of Tourism on Wednesday launched a new international television campaign promoting entertainment and lifestyle offerings in Metro Manila. ” What it also does not say is why inclusion on the TripAdvisor list is an accolade for Manila, or if it is one at all. Neither does it say how TripAdvisor came up with the list.
Not, you know, that that’s important or anything. Maybe it’s because we’ve been investing, or promising to invest, in better airports. Maybe it’s because things are looking up for our economy. Maybe it’s because we have two Catholic saints now instead of just one. Maybe tourist volume has been rising. Maybe there’s a huge influx of international flights coming into Ninoy Aquino International. It’s certainly not because Philippine aviation has been upgraded on aviation safety lists.
This report on USAToday explains how Manila made it to the list of “destinations on the rise” in Asia. Apparently, winners were chosen based on “an algorithm that took into account factors including traveler feedback quality through reviews and opinions on destination accommodations, restaurants, attractions as well as interest through clicks on TripAdvisor, and ‘want to go’ pins placed by travelers on the TripAdvisor Cities I’ve Visited Facebook app.” That sounds totally legit.