Palace expects more tourism for Vigan with New7Wonders status

(Updated 9:32 a.m.) Malacañang expects Vigan City in Ilocos Sur to attract more tourists, following its inauguration as one of the world's New7Wonder Cities.

 

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte congratulated Vigan for its new status, which was formalized with a colorful ceremony Thursday night.

 

"(W)e hope that this will help Vigan City to welcome more tourists into their city to see the beauty of Vigan," she said on government-run dzRB radio on Saturday.

 

She congratulated Vigan for being picked as one of the New7Wonders Cities this year.

 

Previous to Vigan, she said it was Puerto Princesa (Palawan)'s underground river that was deemed one of the New7Wonders of Nature.

 

On Thursday night, Vigan was formally declared one of the world's New7Wonders Cities with an inauguration at the St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral grounds.

Vigan was cited as "the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia," the New7Wonders.com site said.

 

A bronze plaque was presented to the city's officials during the ceremony attended by Vice President Jejomar Binay and New7Wonders founder-president Bernard Weber.

 

Vigan is the first of the New7Wonders Cities to be officially inaugurated, the New7Wonders.com site said.

 

Other than Vigan, the New7Wonders Cities are Beirut (Lebanon), Doha (Qatar), Durban (South Africa), Havana (Cuba), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and La Paz (Bolivia).

The seven cities were selected based on voting from people using the Internet, smartphone apps, international telephone voting lines and text messaging. —Joel Locsin/KG, GMA News