The province of Bohol has emerged as Filipinos’ seventh “most preferred” tourist destination in the country, a survey released on Thursday by Publicus Asia showed.

In the results of Publicus’ Pahayag 2023 Second Quarter survey on most preferred tourist destinations, four percent of respondents indicated their desire to visit the province.

Survey results showed that Bohol’s highest preferential rating was from Visayas residents at seven percent.

It garnered three percent from National Capital Region respodents, four percent from North Central Luzon respondents, three percent from South Luzon respondents and five percent from Mindanao respondents.

The survey which was conducted from June 7 to 12 was topped by Palawan which garnered a whopping 23 percent.

In a statement, PUBLiCUS said the results underlined the diverse preferences and interests of Filipinos when it comes to travel destinations.

“The enchanting beauty of Palawan, the charm of Baguio City, and the cultural experiences offered by Cebu, Siargao, Aklan, Batanes, Bohol, and Davao have all contributed to their popularity among travelers,” Publicus said.

Based on data from the Bohol Tourism Office (BTO), Bohol’s tourism arrivals continued to be dominated by local tourists at 68.10 percent.

According to the BTO, a total of 362,306 tourists visited the province from January 1, 2023 to May 31, 2023 and 246,744 of these were domestic travelers.

The same data showed that the number of foreign tourists who visited the island province during the same period was at 114,562 or 31.90 percent of the total arrivals.

Most of the tourists were Koreans at 45,100. They were followed by Taiwanese and Americans at 8,991 and 8,270, respectively.

Other destinations

Meanwhile, Baguio City was at far second in the Publicus survey with 16 of the respondents preferring to visit the country’s so called “summer capital.” It was followed by Cebu and Siargao both with nine percent and Boracay with eight percent.

Aklan, home to the renowned Boracay Island, garnered eight percent of the respondents’ preference earning the fifth spot in the survey.

Batanes, known for its picturesque landscapes and unique culture, secured six percent of the respondents’ preference.

Davao ranked eighth behind Bohol with three percent of respondents expressing their desire to visit the southern province.

According to J.M. Siddayao of Publicus, several other destinations were included in the survey but those which garnered preferential ratings below three percent were excluded in the published results.

The independent and noncommissioned survey had a sample size of 1,500 adult respondents drawn from a market research panel of 200,000 Filipinos maintained by PureSpectrum.

The samples were distributed across five geographical areas, National Capital Region, North Central Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and only included registered Filipino voters. (A. Doydora)