Every Filipino knows that Manila is a good place as any to shop. Apparently, the rest of Asia thinks the same way after voting Manila as one of the top10 shopping destinations in the region.        
                                               
Manila ranked fifth in the 2008 online poll conducted by Smart Travel Asia, edging out places such as Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China; Hanoi, Vietnam; Seoul, Korea; Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Shenzhen, China.

Hong Kong topped the poll with 25 percent of the vote followed closely by Bangkok, Thailand with 24 percent. Singapore trailed in third with 11.8 percent and Kuala Lumpur scrambled into fourth place with eight percent of the vote.

According to Smart Travel Asia, the poll results reflect the online voters' "substantial hands-on travel experience, word-of-mouth at dinnertime chats, as well as an idea of the brand drawn from advertising and editorial exposure in the media, which is mostly online." Smart Travel Asia is the region’s only dedicated online travel magazine with over one million readers worldwide.

Vijay Verghese, Smart Travel Asia editor, said voters in the annual travel poll took an average 15.5 annual air trips and earned $175,162 with roughly 60 percent based in Asia, 20 percent in UK/Europe and 20 percent in the United States.

The Philippines has three of the world's 10 largest shopping centers, two of them in the capital, Manila. SM Prime, the largest mall operator in the Philippines, said 2.5 million people still visit their 30 shopping centers across the country every week.

A study done by Nielsen Media Research said around 80 percent of the country's population go to shopping centers and around 36 million people visit shopping plazas once or twice a month.

Boracay, Palawan are top vacation spots

The same online poll also showed Boracay Island and Palawan province in the Philippines as among the best holiday destinations in Asia this year.

The 2008 online poll showed Boracay and Palawan ranking seventh and eighth respectively in the top 10 holiday destinations in Asia. Palawan shared eighth place with Chiang Mai, Thailand. Both Philippine destinations were jointly ranked seventh in the 2007 Smart Travel Asia poll.

Boracay is famous for its white sand beaches, which make it a popular tourist spot in the country. On the other hand, Palawan is rated by National Geographic Traveler magazine as the best island destination in East and Southeast Asia region in 2007, and the 13th best island in the world having "incredibly beautiful natural seascapes and landscapes." Some of the most famous tourist spots in Palawan are the Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary, Coron Bay in Busuanga and the El Nido Marine Reserve Park.

The otherworldly Bali, Indonesia was chosen Asia's top holiday destination in the Smart Travel Asia poll for the third straight year followed by Phuket, Thailand; Kerala, India; the island republic of Maldives; shopping mecca Hong Kong and Bangkok, Thailand. Angkor, Cambodia ranked ninth place while Koh Samui, Thailand and Rajasthan, India both shared tenth place.