A glimpse of the white sand shoreline of Santa Fe in Bantayan island in northern Cebu. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Experts say 2022 will be a big year for brides and grooms, with a whopping 2.5 million weddings expected to take place globally, and one of the world’s leading wedding destinations is Cebu.
L’Officiel-USA, the USA edition of Paris-based fashion magazine L’Officiel, named Cebu as one of the ‘Top 10 Places to Hold Your Destination Wedding in 2022’. L’Officiel-USA’s Alice First described Cebu as among the best destinations to tie the knot with its ‘incredibly lively wedding industry’.
“Cebu is where the city meets the tropics… The venues here are endless—each with equally unique and picturesque backdrops for your special day,” First wrote.
Cebu was also nominated for the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2022 under the category ‘Asia’s Leading Wedding Destination’. The island province will be competing with Ko Samui in Thailand; Langkawi in Malaysia; and Bali in Indonesia.
This is the third consecutive time Cebu has been nominated in WTA as one of Asia’s leading wedding destinations. WTA gave the recognition to Bali in 2020 and in 2021.
In a statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) urged Filipinos to cast their votes for the WTA 2022.
The Philippines is also shortlisted in other categories for WTA 2022 which included Asia’s Leading Beach Destination, Asia’s Leading Dive Destination, and Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction.
Wedding market research firm The Wedding Report projected that in 2022, there will be around ‘2.47 million weddings with an average spend of US $24,300’ around the world. They added that it is ‘the biggest year for weddings since 1984’, following lockdowns and cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic which lasted for at least two years.
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