Vigan on 'new 7 wonders' campaign shortlist

Ilocos Sur's "living museum," Vigan, is one of 28 finalists in the New7Wonders Cities campaign, a project that aims to select seven cities around the world that best represent “the achievements and aspirations” of the “global urban civilization.”

“This outstanding shortlist of 28 cities mirrors the diversity of urban society, especially when, for the first time in history, more than half of our planet’s population lives in cities,” New7Wonders Cities founder Bernard Weber told Travel Daily Asia.

The gem of the Ilocos region was one of the country's bets in the Cities category. Manila, Quezon City, Davao, and Tagaytay were also considered for the list.

The Philippines already has the honor of having one of its tourist spots recognized in a New7Wonders list. In 2012, Puerto Princesa's Underground River was the second entry to be confirmed for the Nature category, joining the likes of the Amazon in Brazil and Table Mountain in South Africa.

The New7Wonders of the World campaign says it endeavors to inspire people around the globe to leave lasting "symbols of unity" for future generations through "a series of global voting campaigns."

The campaign also claims that the designation of a place as one of the "new seven wonders" could increase revenue for these sites by $1 billion over five years, a number which does not take the value added by marketing, advertising, image and branding value.

This economic aspect of the campaign has come under fire in the past. In 2011, the campaign's organizers were accused of springing "surprise" fees of up to $500,000 by Maldives and Indonesia, who have withdrawn their entries from the Nature category.

The late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo then commented, “No funds for it, nor will [we] be willing to raise it just to join [the] contest, especially if it’s ‘a few million dollars.” — Rie Takumi/BM, GMA News