Island tops 2012 list of travel magazine

Boracay Island in Aklan, made world-famous by its powdery white-sand beaches, has been named by the international magazine Travel+Leisure as the world’s best island destination for 2012.

The magazine polled its readers, who gave Boracay a score of 93.10. Boracay catapulted to the top from a No. 4 ranking last year. (See table)

Travel+Leisure editor Nilou Motamed, in an interview with Today host Willie Geist, said he considered Boracay’s edging out Bali as significant.

“It’s one of those islands you should know about if you’re interested in culture and value,” Motamed said.

The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Nancy Novogrod, in a press statement, said: “Even after 17 years, the opportunity to see what travel experiences resonate with our readers still intrigues and delights me. While some passions change over time, the allure of the exotic and the new remains as strong as ever, as does the attraction to trips that provide distinctive and long-lasting memories.”

A part of the municipality of Malay, Boracay covers approximately 10 square kilometers. It lies two kilometers off the northwest tip of Panay Island and is approximately 315 kilometers south of Manila.

Boracay has long been the favorite destination of scuba diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, and kiteboarding enthusiasts.

It has more than 350 beach resorts with a total of more than 2,000 rooms. Restaurants, bars, pubs, and nightclubs also line Boracay’s beaches.

Boracay’s Discovery Shores was also named this year’s Best Hotel Spa Award in Asia, up six spots from No. 7 last year.

Published by the American Express Publishing Corporation since 1937, the New York-based Travel+Leisure magazine is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Company, led by president and chief executive officer Ed Kelly.

The 2012 World’s Best Awards winners will be feted in a ceremony on July 19 to be hosted by Novogrod and the magazine’s vice-president and publisher, Jean-Paul Kyrillos, at the Conrad New York hotel.

(LEO LAPARAN II and YFUR PORSCHE FERNANDEZ/ MB Research, with reports from ABS-CBN News Online and travelandleisure.com, amexpub.com)