Manila - One of Top Shopping Destinations in Asia

I just would like to share this great news!  There are still a lot to improve...but at least, we're getting there!

"Manila emerged among the best shopping destinations for international travelers in Asia Pacific edging out other famous cities, such as Taipei, Auckland, Mumbai and Jakarta.

Manila is ranked 11th based on Global Blue’s "Globe Shopper Index" that was published on Monday.

Global Blue ranked 25 Asia Pacific cities based on 38 criteria under five categories: shops, affordability, convenience, hotels and transport, and culture and climate.

"Manila's performance was driven by its score in the Affordability category, where Manila ranked well for its affordable two- and four-star hotels, and cheap public transport. Manila’s ranking was also helped by the range of large shopping malls in the city. Manila was fourth on this criterion, with five malls available to globe shoppers," Global Blue said in a statement.

Manila, however, did poorly in the Hotels & Transport and Shops categories :(

This, Global Blue said, is due to the limited availability of hotels in Manila and the quality of its public transport, making it less attractive to globe shoppers.

“Despite having many large malls the city offers a limited range of international brands weakened its performance in the Shops category.” :(

The same observation on the lack of international brands was also aired earlier by Samie Lim, vice president for Tourism of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as among the weak points of the country as a travel destination.

Lim earlier told the Business Mirror that in terms of high-end shops, the Philippines has been overtaken by Indonesia. In his recent visit there, Lim said he saw 15 malls that have shops for Louis Vuitton and Hermes in each of them, whereas in the Philippines, only two malls have these brands :(

As expected, Hong Kong topped the Index as the most attractive city for international travel shoppers in Asia Pacific.  It is followed by Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Sydney, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul and Delhi.

Trailing Manila were Taipei, Auckland, Bangalore, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Jakarta, Osaka, Ho Chi Minh City, Busan, Nagoya, Colombo, Dhaka, Karachi and Yangon.

Global Blue developed the Globe Shopper Index in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit as an essential planning tool for all international travel shoppers searching for their next shopping destination in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

“Whether a globe shopper cares most about finding a great place to lunch, or an open-all-hours shopping culture, whether they just want great prices, or are looking for the biggest variety of luxury goods to choose from, the Globe Shopper Index is the place to start researching a destination city,” Global Blue said.

Global Blue works with over 270,000 of the world’s favorite retailers, shopping brands and hotels in over 40 countries; Global Blue serves in excess of 60,000 travelers each and every day. The company’s ambition is to become the beacon for international shopping and spending across the globe. Global Blue’s headquarters are in Lyon, close to Geneva, Switzerland."

Written By:  Max V. de Leon, Business Mirror
Source:  abs-cbnnews.com