DAVAO CITY– Davao City has been named as the best city to visit in the Philippines, according to the World Travel Index 2025.

The WTI survey determines the city’s ranks based on several factors which include the cost of overnight stays, dining and shopping expenses, car rental and gas prices, and the quality of local attractions, safety, and infrastructure.

Davao City garnered 75.48 points which highlighted the city’s advantages in safety, quality of life, and affordability. Overall Davao City ranks 306th in best places to visit among the more than 3,000 cities all over the world included in the WTI survey.

Makati City with a score of 73.83 is the second best city to visit in the country. It is ranked 416th among the 3,000 cities in the WTI 2025 survey. Puerto Princesa city in Palawan ranks third with a score of 73.57 (ranked 439th among 3,000 cities).

Other top Philippine cities to visit include Dumaguete with 73.23 points, Baguio with 72.75, Cebu City with 72.55, Iloilo City with 70.39, Manila City with 68.43, Legazpi City with 68.31, and Lapu-Lapu City with 68.09.

Davao City’s top ranking in the country is due to its diverse appeal, it boasts of vibrant culture, rich biodiversity and beautiful landscapes. These factors contribute to an upward growth in tourism based on tourist arrivals.

Based on data from the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO), an estimated 1.8 million tourists visited Davao City in 2024. This is a significant increase from 1.296 million visitors in 2023 and 896,406 arrivals in 2022. The CTOO is targeting 2.5 million tourists for 2025.

Davao City earlier was recognized by the WTI as it ranked the second safest city in the Philippines with a safety score of 80.73 just below Dumaguete City (81.36).

WTI is an Artificial Intelligence powered platform that provided unbiased data-driven insights that helps travelers find their suitable destinations based on their given preferences. With its extensive database it ranks destinations across various important metrics, such as affordability, activities, safety, and infrastructure quality.

A WELCOME NEWS

Stakeholders from the public and the private tourism sector welcomed Davao City’s WTI ranking.

“This is a very happy news and we welcome it with a commitment to develop more reasons and products for people to visit Davao,” says CTOO Tourism Relations Specialist Grace Plata.

For Department of Tourism-11 Regional Director Tanya Rabat Tan says the ranking of Davao City as the best city to visit in the country  is a reminder that Davao has all the elements that entices tourists to visit.

“This is something that we can be proud of and continue to be an inspiration to strive harder to develop and expand more tourism circuits,” Tan said.

For Davao Tourism Association President Nicole Hao Bian Ledesma the achievement is a recognition to the hard work of very tourism stakeholder in the city.

“This is also a validation of what we have always known, that our sites and attractions, culture, people, and communities are truly worth celebrating and sharing with the world,” Ledesma said.

DATA is a private sector-led association of more than 100 tourism-related establishment in Davao City.

PIA PHOTO