Newcoast Village rises on world's top island Boracay

MANILA, Philippines - With an aggregate score of 89.83, Boracay made a strong debut in Travel and Leisure magazine’s annual list of “World’s Best Islands.” In a recent issue of the travel magazine, Boracay splashed into fourth place on the list, voted by the magazine’s readers and frequent travelers.

“Now that even tiny islands such as Koh Samui are becoming mainstream, Boracay, in the Philippines, may be one of the last little-known Asian beach getaways. The sandy-shored speck is accessible via an hour-long flight from Manila to Caticlan, followed by a 10-minute ferry ride. Go now, before the crowds arrive. Already a growing number of travelers are lured by five-star properties... As proof of its rising profile, 2011 is the first year Boracay has ranked in the World’s Best Awards,” the magazine noted.

The Newcoast Station will feature a variety of outdoor activities for tourists to enjoy.

The top three in the category are champion Santorini, Greece; runner-up Bali, Indonesia; and Cape Breton, Canada. Boracay edged out other world-famous islands such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia (fifth place) and Big Island, Hawaii (seventh place).

The magazine’s readers voted their preferences based on each island’s natural attractions, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people and value.

Other categories include “World’s Best City” awarded to Bangkok and “World’s Best Hotel” going to Singita Grumeti Reserves in Tanzania, among many prestigious honors.

Commendations such as this bode well for the glittering prospects of the tourism business on Boracay, including all hotel, tour, diving and restaurant operators, in the future as Boracay becomes even more popular with travelers worldwide via word of mouth and inclusion in world’s best lists by elite travelers. Certainly, tourists have recognized the powdery white sands of Boracay and its rich dive sites, among many other attractions.

Boracay makes a splash, debuting at No. 4 on the “World’s Best Islands” list. Map shows the location of the new tourism-oriented community, Boracay Newcoast, on the eastern part of the island.

It also couldn’t have come at a better time, with the soft launch of the largest development project in the island to date. Boracay Newcoast on the island’s eastern shore is master-planned to be a tourism-oriented community. It will gather four international hotels and one local hotel and offer more than 1,500 hotel suites to beef up Boracay’s capability to serve a growing number of travelers.

“We have been projecting all along that tourist arrivals will go up as Boracay’s pull on travelers worldwide grows stronger, and here comes Travel and Leisure magazine specifically advising tourists to come now before the crowd becomes even bigger. Citations such as this will only add to the allure of Boracay and in prestigious projects such as Boracay Newcoast in particular,” noted Global Estate-Resorts Inc. (GERI) vice president for sales and marketing and project head Abraham Mercado. GERI is the developer of Boracay Newcoast.

Restaurants, souvenir shops, coffee shops, bars will line the streets of Boracay Newcoast’s Shophouse district.

Specifically, Mercado cited internal GERI research study that tourist arrivals will jump from about 900,000 this year to 1.75 million in 2016. “As such, the advice of Travel and Leisure to travelers is quite appropriate and must be heeded. But for those who want to come or can travel to Boracay only in the next few years due to their hectic travel calendars, Boracay Newcoast will be ready to accommodate them,” he noted.

By then, Boracay Newcoast can certainly help boost Boracay’s strength in the best islands criteria of natural attractions, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people and value. The master plan includes a leisure center and the Newcoast Station, with outdoor activities for tourists. Boutique hotels will further add to the wide array of accommodations, while the Shophouse district will feature restaurants and souvenir shops, among others. Also in the plan is Boracay Newcoast Village, the first exclusive subdivision to rise in Boracay.

“A second home exclusively for your family during the holidays or for long weekends in one of the world’s top four island destinations… this dream can now become a reality with Boracay Newcoast Village,” Mercado noted.

For inquiries, call Megaworld Global-Estate at 904-5580 or log on to www.global-estate.ph.

Boracay Newcoast will offer 1,500 new hotel suites across four international hotel brands and one local hotel chain. The tourist estate also boasts its own one-kilometer private white-sand beach.