Ever the romantics, Pinoys pick Paris as their dream honeymoon destination

Most of the world apparently wants to travel to the Maldives for their honeymoon, but for Pinoys, France’s romantic City of Light is their top choice, according to a survey by a hotel booking site.

The survey, conducted online in January and February, 2014, asked more than 15,000 Agoda.com customers to pick their dream honeymoon location from among 20 destinations. One in five travelers chose the Maldives.

But Pinoys picked Paris.

“We know the Maldives is a popular destination for couples, but we were surprised that its allure is so global. Among countries where we had more than 100 respondents, only three didn’t pick it as the most popular dream honeymoon destination – The Philippines, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand,” said Errol Cooke, vice president of Global Hotels.

Following the Maldives, which was way ahead with 20.3 percent, are the Greek islands (7.8 percent), Paris (7.6 percent) and Bali (7.1 percent).

The Maldives was the most popular honeymoon spot among Agoda.com customers from North America, Europe and Asia, but the runner-up differed depending on where respondents hailed from. Paris came in second among travelers from Asia, while for Europeans it was Bali and for North Americans, the Greek Islands.

The survey also showed that Europeans prefer far-flung places, as 89 percent picked destinations outside of their region, while Asians seem the least likely to venture far, with only 65 percent picking destinations outside of Asia. — Patricia Denise Chiu/BM, GMA News