The Philippines remains a mystery to me. I can’t understand why more people don’t go there. I’ve visited many times: its cities and resorts are modern, it’s English-speaking and service standards are arguably Asia’s highest. What’s more, prices remain attractively low. So, why doesn’t it make more waves as a holiday destination?

Tourists sometimes seem unexpectedly thin on the ground. Crowds head instead to Phuket or Bali. Surprisingly, the Philippines remains a bit player on the Asian tourism stage. Tourism secretary Joseph Durano recently acknowledged this, revealing a target of five million visitors a year by 2010 is unlikely to be met.

Nonetheless, an awful lot of people do go to the Philippines. They discover an ability to escape the tourist throngs of busier destinations.

While South Korea is the country’s number one source of tourists, many go from Singapore (including many expatriates) – with direct flights to Manila, Cebu and Davao, the country’s three key cities. Boracay, Cebu and Davao are among the country’s best-known tourist destinations. Of Davao’s 1.5 million people, 95 per cent are Christian (mostly Catholic). It is reputedly the Philippines’ cleanest city. Streets are swept regularly. Footpaths are dotted with garbage bins. Smoking is outlawed except in designated areas. Taxis are modern and metered, and rip-offs are rare. Crime levels are low. Mayors tend to be super-powerful in the Philippines and Davao’s Harley-Davidsonriding Rodrigo Duterte is no exception. He runs a tough-guy administration renowned for keeping streets safe. City officials complain that unrest in some other parts of the large island of Mindanao, where government forces are ranged against Muslim separatist rebels, has an adverse effect on peaceful Davao. Some tourists, they say, take the view that if it’s Mindanao they won’t go.

That’s a pity. To my mind, Davao is one of Asia’s most fascinating – and safest – holiday destinations.

A modern city, it boasts malls and markets (with cheap-as-chips shopping), tropical parkland, diverse cultural attractions, good golf courses, white-sand beaches, whitewater rafting, hiking, memorable restaurants and superb resorts.

For instance, one morning I decided to check out the Pearl Farm Beach Resort. Tourists are snorkelling in clear water, a group waves as it sets out for a wreck-diving session, lazier souls sprawl in hammocks on over-water balconies. Dining is five-star and accommodation is as good as at top-drawer Thai or Maldivian resorts.

Food in this port city is predictably seafood-oriented. Tuna-fishing is one of Davao’s main industries. Local delicacies include panga.(grilled tuna jaw) and kinilaw (marinated raw tuna). Among a plethora of fine seafood restaurants, no-frills Luz Kinilaw excels and is something of a local landmark. However, the main attraction bringing tourists to Davao is the Philippine Eagle Centre, an hour’s drive from the city. Its aim is to save endangered Philippine eagles, of which only 500 pairs are believed to survive in the wild. Logging and farming are destroying their habitat.