𝗣𝗛𝗟 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco announced on Monday (March 31) that the Philippines clinched the coveted Destination of the Year Award at the Routes Asia 2025 Awards held in Perth, Australia.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯,” said Secretary Frasco. “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘍𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘴 𝘑𝘳., 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.”

The Routes Asia Awards celebrate excellence in air service development and marketing across the Asia-Pacific region. Recognized as the “most valuable awards in the route development community”, these awards highlight collaboration between airlines, airports, and tourism authorities. Routes Asia is an annual forum that connects aviation and tourism stakeholders to shape future air services.

The country’s recognition as Destination of the Year Winner underscores the DOT’s strong leadership in expanding the Philippines’ air connectivity through strategic marketing, robust industry collaboration, and sustainable tourism initiatives. Launched in 2023, the Department’s flagship campaign “Love the Philippines” has fueled demand by highlighting the country’s diverse biodiversity, rich cultural heritage, and emerging destinations. These efforts form part of the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023–2028, which outlines enhanced connectivity as a strategic objective to improve access and inclusivity in Philippine tourism. As of February 28, 2025, 46 new domestic and 47 international routes are in operation, improving access to destinations such as Siargao, Batanes, Panglao, and Coron, among others.

Secretary Frasco has also been leading aviation-focused efforts in close coordination with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and other government agencies and private partners, advocating for the modernization and retrofitting of key airports nationwide. The Department continues to champion improvements in airport service quality and operational efficiency, while actively lobbying for the restoration of suspended routes, increasing flight frequencies, and mounting more inter-island services to improve regional access.

Meanwhile, the country’s low-cost carrier, Cebu Pacific received recognition as Best Airline—its second consecutive win—reinforces its role as a leader in Philippine aviation. In 2024, the airline launched 31 new routes, resumed hub operations in Davao and Iloilo, and expanded to destinations like Kaohsiung, Chiang Mai, and Sapporo. Strengthening its long-term growth, it placed the largest aircraft order in Philippine aviation history—152 Airbus jets worth USD 24 billion—and amplified its global visibility through the Fly to Happy, Fly to the Philippines! campaign.

The Philippines also earned nominations in two key airport categories this year: Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in the 5–20 Million Passengers category, and Clark International Airport (CRK) in the Under 5 Million Passengers category. Both airports were previously recognized—Clark in 2024 and Mactan-Cebu in 2023—for their remarkable growth and route development strategies.

Secretary Frasco expressed her gratitude to partner airlines and the broader aviation ecosystem for their continued support. “𝘞𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯,” Secretary Frasco remarked. “𝘈𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴—𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴.”

The Routes Asia 2025 Philippine delegation included representatives from the DOT, Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), ACAC (Aboitiz InfraCapital Airport Corporation), Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corporation (LIPAD), Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), and Clark Development Corporation (CDC).

The Destination of the Year Award was personally received by DOT Assistant Secretary Judilyn Quiachon, Director Warner Andrada, Tourism Attaché for Australia and New Zealand Purificacion Suanding-Molintas, along with the rest of the DOT delegation during the awarding ceremonies in Perth.