Boracay tops as summer travel destination - StratPOLLS

As summer begins, the tempting and soothing place of Boracay remains the top choice as a summer travel destination among residents living in Metro Manila, according to the latest StratPOLLS survey.

Of the 250 respondents, 76 percent picked Boracay as the “top dreamland destination,” specifically among the rich and middle classes of Metro Manila, including the ritzy class,” professor Alfredo Sureta Jr. noted.

Palawan (59 percent), Cebu-Bohol (28 percent) and the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Tourism Corridor (27 percent) followed in second, third and fourth spots, respectively.

Completing the top 10 were Camarines Sur (24 percent), Baguio-Sagada (21 percent), Davao (21 percent), Subic-Clark (20 percent), Surigao (13 percent) and Cagayan de Oro (11 percent).

Based on the survey conducted from March 14 to 21, money, time, promise of fun and adventure, or plain reclusion, at least for the summer, were cited as major factors that would determine the final destination.

Using a telephone survey, Metro Manila respondents were asked to choose the top three travel destinations—from a mixed menu of 10 destinations, meaning as accessible by land or by air—that are upper most in their minds every time summer comes around the corner.

In the final tabulation, the destinations were categorized into two: accessible by air and accessible by land. Boracay topped the “by-air” destination while Tagaytay-Nasugbu topped the “by-land” category.

Asked if they were going on a vacation outside of Metro Manila this summer, half of the respondents (52.8 percent) answered, they “don’t know,” while 36 percent said “yes” and 11.2 percent said “no.”

The respondents’ age ranged from 18 to 56 and older.

Sureta, StratPOLLS executive director, pointed out that the Baguio-Sagada area had lost much of its appeal to nearby Tagaytay-Nasugbu which also boasts of cool and fine weather. The same could also be said of the Subic-Clark area notwithstanding its accessibility through the world-class SCTEx.

“Tagaytay-Nasugbu has really emerged as the top weekend and summer hideaway, at least for Metro Manila folks,” he said.
He added that if Libyan oil is that country’s key economic asset, the Philippines shores and tourist destinations might as well be a key contributor to the country’s economic well-being.