Palawan is NatGeo Traveler best island in Asia

Palawan, the Philippines' last frontier is rated among the best islands in the world. It garnered the 13th spot with a score of 72 together with the islands of Moorea in French Polynesia and Block Island, in Rhode Island USA. The basic criteria for rating the islands is ecological balanced with tourist appeal. Read the story here.

I really don't know why Batanes is not included in their roster of 111-strong islands, as Batanes, in the northern tip of Luzon, is unspoilt by tourists. It has its old-world charms, with landscapes akin to islands in the British isles or even in Scandinavia (except the snow, of course). Since the Philippines has thousands of islands, maybe the National Geographic reviewers took into account only the major islands present in the world tourism industry. But still, Boracay and Cebu were not rated. For comparison, Cebu is consistently rated 7th best island in Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region by CondeNast Traveler and Boracay is voted among the top 10 island/beach destination in the rest of other travel surveys including Yahoo Travel.

The score of 72 for Palawan is indeed respectable since the best island, Faroe Island in Denmark garnered a score of 87, the only island in the category of authentic, unspoiled, and likely to remain so. Palawan is categorized as having minor difficulties (scores of 66-85). This categorization is good so that the local government concerned should be enticed to protect the island from tourism overkill. The NatGeo Traveler magazine, by the way, has specially mentioned El Nido and the Calamian Group in Palawan. The worst rated island is a tie between Ibiza in Spain and St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.