The Philippines bested Bali and Thailand in a voting process that garnered 4.2 million votes by members of the industry during almost two months of voting period in July and August 2010. A panel of judges initially chose the destinations per category and asked members of the industry to vote online. The announcement of this award is auspicious, coming ahead of the State Visit of President Benigno Aquino III to China, which draws focus on the efforts of the Philippine and Chinese governments to facilitate and further strengthen the level of economic and people-to-people ties, including tourism.
