Key Philippine beach destinations are set to become the favorite beach-wedding locations for Taiwanese couples ahead of Hawaii.

Ireneo Reyes, director for tourism of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) in Taipei, said his office will aggressively promote Boracay, Palawan, Cebu, Davao, and other island and coastal?areas to Taiwanese tourists as an alternative to Hawaii.

“The beauty of our beaches remains one of our major draws for Taiwanese. Many couples looking to get married abroad do so in Hawaii, but Philippine beaches can more than hold their own, especially when cost is factored in,” Reyes said.

He said beach wedding is one of the major themes to be exploited by the Department of Tourism and Meco in their attempt to get a bigger slice of the outbound market of Taiwan in time for the long vacation during the Chinese New Year in 2010.

The Taiwanese also showed interest in dive sites, golf and Filipino schools offering the English language program.

During a recent travel fair in Taiwan, Filipino participants in the fair were able to get a total of 221 confirmed bookings for group tours and more than 800 queries.

In the first three quarters of the year, the number of Taiwanese visitors to the Philippines declined by 14 percent to only 77,126, from 90,104 in the same period last year, but this is expected to rise yet again with more interest from Taiwanese tourists in the country’s destinations.