A young boy waits at the side of the road for fresh water surrounded by debris from Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, central Philippines. AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Citing the devastation caused by Supertyphoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) in the central Philippines, a British travel website has included the country on its list of top 10 countries to visit in 2014.
“In the wake of the terrible devastation wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan, tourism has become even more important to the Philippines, bringing crucial support to the economy,” Roughguides.com said in its feature article.
“An estimated 97 percent of the country remains unaffected, including Boracay and the southern parts of Cebu,” it said.
Yolanda cut a wide swath of destruction across the Visayas region in November last year, destroying cities and entire provinces particularly Leyte and Samar.
Popular tourism destinations such as the island of Cebu and Coron in Palawan were also battered by Yolanda’s angry winds and storm surges.
Roughguides praised the Philippines for its reefs, volcanoes and rice terraces but noted also the continuing insurgencies from rebel groups in the Mindanao region.
“Though the Philippines boasts a dazzling array of pristine reefs, volcanoes, sleepy backpacker islands and the famed rice terraces, the country mostly remains off the beaten path,” it said.
“Despite being relatively safe for travelers – flare-ups of political violence (mainly in Mindanao) are easily avoided,” it noted.
The rebel group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) attacked the city of Zamboanga in Mindanao in September 2013 forcing more than 2,000 soldiers to be deployed to the city to fight the rebels.
The city ground to a halt for almost three weeks during the fighting.
Other countries in the Roughguides top 10 list were Ethiopia, Madagascar, Brazil, Turkey, Georgia, Rwanda, Japan, Bulgaria and Macedonia.
“New direct flights from London to Manila mean that it’s now even easier to get there from the UK,” it said.
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