The big tourism success of a small island in the Republic of the Philippines: the case of Siargao

Siargao, which is commonly recognized as the surfing capital of the Philippines, has been chosen as one of the best holiday islands in the world by the tourism experts. Siargao, located in the southeast of the Republic of the Philippines and northeast of the island of Mindanao, is one of the most popular sea tourism destinations of the country, situated within the borders of Surigao del Norte Province.In terms of administrative management, Siargao has 9 districts and 132 barangays, as well as 48 small islands in its immediate vicinity. In this study, on the one hand, the geographical location, administrative structure and general geographical features of the island of Siargao were addressed, on the other hand, popular tourism centers, natural and cultural tourism attractions and tourism potential were investigated. Moreover, both the main tourism advantages and the main tourism disadvantages of the Siargao island were dealt with in the study. Siargao's biggest tourism advantage, despite possessing a very small area, is that it has a great recreation and tourism diversity thanks to its geographical, cultural and ecological diversity and that it has breathtaking natural beauties that are not available anywhere else in the world. The main purpose of this study is both to introduce the tourism potential and natural beauties of this small Philippine island to the readers and offer new holiday options for the inquisitive tourists.