MANILA, Philippines - It was only a matter of time. From No. 4 last year, Boracay Island has surged to No. 1 island in the world, according to British magazine Travel + Leisure.
With an aggregate score of 93.10, Boracay bested runner-up Bali and the previous year’s champion, Santorini, which was relegated to sixth place. Boracay was also named Asia’s Best Island, topping perennial favorites Bali and Phuket. The 2012 poll was conducted among the magazine’s jet-setting subscribers and the awards were held last July 19 at the Conrad Flagship Hotel in New York City.
It is likely that majority of the 700,000 foreign tourists who visited Boracay in the first half of the year — a 41 percent rise over the same period in 2011 — thoroughly enjoyed their stay and had a lasting impression of the island, that is why Boracay achieved such lofty status.
Such acclaim and the continued influx of tourists will only mean two things. First, Boracay will become a more popular destination worldwide with all the goodwill from top publications like Travel + Leisure plus good word-of-mouth from millions of past visitors. Second, more hotels must be built over the next few years to accommodate the rising number of tourists and delight them with the best of Filipino hospitality.
One expansive project within Boracay will help the island reach its true tourism potential. Boracay Newcoast on the island’s eastern side will rise as its first fully master-planned tourist hub. Covering 140 hectares and an estimated 14 percent of the island’s total area, Boracay Newcoast boasts its own private beach coves with a one-km. white sand beachfront.
According to Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI) vice president for marketing and project head Abraham Mercado, “Boracay Newcoast has been master planned to raise the bar of tourist experience.” GERI is the developer behind Boracay Newcoast and is the tourism arm of Filipino tycoon Andrew Tan.
Five international and local hotels are set to be built within Boracay Newcoast and add 1,500 hotel suites to Boracay’s room inventory. More rooms will be added once investors start to operate their lodging offerings at Boracay Newcoast’s Boutique Hotel district. Their guests will also enjoy access to a private beach cove.
One of Boracay Newcoast’s hotels is set to transform Boracay into the Ibiza of Asia. Home to Boracay’s first and only pool concert arena, Savoy Hotel will host various electronic dance music festivals and concerts. Overlooking the pool and bar area is a 400-square-meter dance roof deck capping a row of commercial establishments.
Oceanway Residences, the first residential condominium cluster in Boracay, enjoys a prime location tucked between two greens of Fairways & Bluewater — the only championship golf course on the island — with resplendent views of the private white beach coves and Sibuyan Sea.
Over at the Shophouse District, tourists can stock up on Boracay souvenirs, dine on the freshest seafood, or schedule a dive to check out the island’s marine treasures, among others.
Guests who fall in love with the Boracay experience may opt for a permanent home at Newcoast Village, Boracay Newcoast’s first and only exclusive gated village. Mercado recommended that lot buyers take inspiration from the ocean villas in Bali, Phuket and Santorini to design their homes.
He added that with a capital-intensive and highly marketable project like Boracay Newcoast, Boracay’s long-term viability and tourism appeal are ensured for the long term.
And just as Boracay’s standing has surged within the global tourism industry, so does GERI, as the company reported an increase in reservation sales to P3 billion for the first five months of the year during its annual stockholders meeting last June 28. This means that investors have warmed up to the potential of integrated tourism projects like Boracay Newcoast, Mercado concluded.
source: philstar.com