By Ch. Faisal Mahmood
BALI: Popularly known as the “Island of the gods” or the “Island of a Thousand Puras (Temples)”, the Java sea top tourists destination, Bali is an island and province of Indonesia. Its capital, Denpasar, is located in the southern part of the island. With the population of 4.2 million, Bali’s Tourism-related business makes up 80% of its economy. It is renowned for its highly-developed arts, including traditional, modern dance, sculpture, painting and music and of course its blue water & white and black sand beaches, emerald rice terraces and some of the world’s best spa Hotels, all these together with highly peaceful and loving inhabitants of Bali are the reasons the crowned the island with the world’s most favorite destination.
Bali is part of the Coral Triangle, the area with the highest biodiversity of marine species. In this area alone over 500 reefs building coral species can be found. For comparison, this is about 7 times as many as in the entire Caribbean.
World known for its coral reefs, volcanic mountains and iconic beaches reefs, Indonesia’s resort island Bali has topped TripAdvisor’s best destination list for 2017. The crowd-sourced travel guide has named it the best tourist destination for the first time despite being a popular travel hotspot for many years. The Indonesian island was described as a favorite destination for both adventurers and those in need of a little relaxation, with its white beaches, great diving and dense jungle treks contributing to its popularity.
Last year, London took the first place, but this year it dropped to the second position. Unsurprisingly, given its enormous cultural impact, history, cuisine and number of spectacular landmarks, Paris is on the third spot this year. The city of Rome moved three notches up to take fourth position. Elsewhere, New York continues to be popular with global travellers, climbing four places to fifth position.
“We’re excited to reveal our community’s favorite travel destinations for 2017 and recognize these iconic places with Travellers’ Choice awards,” said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor in a press release.
Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, restaurants and attractions across destinations worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.
Travellers who use the TripAdvisor website have praised an island that for many embodies exoticism, dripping in lush vegetation and soaked with a spirituality that is as easy to stumble upon as the delicate offerings of petals placed on its pavements each morning
In 2010 Bali also won ‘The Best Island Award’ by a famous Travel and Leisure magazine.
As per TripAdvisor World’s Top 10 destinations for 2017
- Bali, Indonesia
- London, United Kingdom
- Paris, France
- Rome, Italy
- New York City, US
- Crete, Greece
- Barcelona, Spain
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Phuket, Thailand
