Boracay island was given the World’s Best Overall Island award at the New York-based monthly magazine Travel+Leisure’s 17th World’s Best Awards held at the Conrad Flagship Hotel in New York July 19, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

 

The winners were decided by ratings from magazine readers, who gave the island a score of 93.10. Bali, Indonesia, which ranked second in the category, received a score of 90.41.

 

Boracay was also named the Top Island in Asia, while one of the island’s more popular luxury resorts, Discovery Shores, was named Asia’s Top Hotel Spa.

 

The awards for World’s Best Overall Island and Top Asian Island were accepted by Abigail Yap, wife of Malay Mayor John Yap. She was accompanied by Vernie Velarde-Morales, a Department of Tourism (DOT) representative. 

 

The award for Top Asian Hotel Spa was received by Jose C. Parreño, general manager of Discovery Shores.

  

The awards were presented by Travel+Leisure editor-in-chief Nancy Novogrod and vice-president and publisher Jean-Paul Kyrillos.

 

Winners in other categories were Red Mountain Resort in Ivins, Utah, for Top Destination Spa; Singita Grumeti Reserves in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, for Top Hotel; Bangkok, Thailand for Top City; Singapore Airlines for Top International Airline; and Virgin America for Top Domestic Airline. 

 

The winners were featured on the American TV program, NBC’s “Today.”

 

The World’s Best Awards is a yearly recognition of destinations, hotels, resorts, tour operators, cruise lines, airlines, and other major tourist services chosen by Travel+Leisure readers.

 

Novogrod said the awards for Boracay and Discovery Shores were both well-deserved, according to the DFA.

 

This year, an unprecedented number of Travel+Leisure readers cast their votes for their favorite travel destinations, she added.

 

 The magazine boasts of 4.8 million readers worldwide. — AL/VS, GMA News