KALIBO, Aklan – The island of Boracay in Malay, Aklan received a total of 849,047 visitors from January to June this year, according to Malay Municipal Tourism Office.
Based on the data of the local tourism office, of the total tourist arrivals, 817,215 were domestic tourists; while 18,845 were foreign tourists; and 12,987 were overseas Filipino workers / overseas Filipinos.
The month of May 2022 posted the highest number of tourist arrivals amid the pandemic with 201,368, notably due to the celebration of long weekend holiday “LoveBoracay” formerly celebrated as LaBoracay in the famous Island.
It was followed by the months of June of which the island was able to welcome 193,650 visitors; April with 186,751 and 150,597 in March.
With less than 100,000 tourist arrivals in Boracay were the months of February and January with 80,882 and 35,799 arrivals, respectively.
The local governments of Aklan and Malay saw more tourists spend their vacations in the island with the resumption of international flights at the Kalibo International Airport and the easing of travel restrictions.
In June, Air Seoul and T’Way Air, have once again touched down at KIA for the first time in Aklan after more than two years the province closed its doors from neighboring countries due to pandemic.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) more direct international flights are expected to resume operations at KIA this July.
Meanwhile, the newly elected Aklan governor, Jose Enrique Miraflores is mulling for a simple and easy pre-entry requirements for Boracay Island, specifically the Quick Response (QR Code) system.
The governor said that streamlining of the QR code system is necessary also for easy checking and monitoring of the tourists going to Boracay; which are expected to increase in the coming months.
At present, QR code requirement for Aklanons and returning travellers have been lifted whose point of destination is Mainlanland Malay only in accordance with Executive Order 002, series of 2022, issued by Miraflores on July 1. (PIA-Aklan/PN)
