Manila: In the World's Top 5 Travel Destinations!

The Philippines has long been a target of numerous bad press thanks to the Abu Sayyaf and the extra judicial killings. If u were to ask a 10 year-old kid in New York if he'll ever go and visit the philippines he'll surely reply with a big "NO! NO!".
Just as i thought that never will i hear anything good about the philippines i was wrong, and i was glad to be wrong. It was kind of a shock to read on a friend's blog that Yahoo Travel, a subsidiary of Yahoo.com, has named Manila as the 5th Top City in its International List Of Tourist Destinations In 2007. i can't believe it myself. and i just had to visit Yahoo! to confirm the report... and there it was....

The list was based on the most popular searches made on Yahoo! Fare Chase to see which cities are attracting the most number of people this year.

Katherine Tom, Senior Editor at Yahoo Travel, notes that �â'¬Å"Manila attracts budget travelers looking for beaches and nightlife.�â'¬ï¿½ Manila is one of only two Asian cities to be featured in the Top 10 list. Bangkok is at number 6 and we even beat New York or even L.A.

"Tourists who have been to the Philippines were pleasantly surprised with what the Philippines has to offer. Reviews found on the site have tourists raving about the Philippines�â'¬™ rich mixture of Eastern and Western cultures, white sand beaches, world class scuba diving sites, the bargain shopping and the huge malls found all over the city, and the exciting nightlife which some say is comparable or even better than the west." copy-paste from my friend's Blog

Check out the full article:

Where Are Travelers Heading In 2007?
By Katherine Tom, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Travel
December 20, 2006

Curious where travelers are headed in the coming year? We took a look at the most popular searches on Yahoo! FareChase to see which cities folks are flocking to in 2007. On the domestic list, perennial travel favorite Las Vegas shows no signs of ceding the top spot, while sunny Florida dominates the rest of the list, with five out of the top 10 searches.

We did note a few surprises on the international list, including the appearance of Frankfurt and Manila in the top 5. Visitors rave about Frankfurt's shopping and architecture, while Manila attracts budget travelers looking for beaches and nightlife. Of course, more traditional travel destinations like Paris and Rome made the list as well, placing at 7th and 8th respectively.

Top International Travel Searches - 2007

1. London, United Kingdom
2. Cancun, Mexico
3. Frankfurt, Germany
4. San Juan, Puerto Rico
5. Manila, Philippines
6. Bangkok, Thailand
7. Paris, France
8. Rome, Italy
9. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
10. Amsterdam, Netherlands