BORACAY – Boracay Island is optimistic its tourist arrivals will reach two million this year.
Arrivals from Jan. 1 to June 15 were at 1,040,847—59 percent of last year’s total, data from the Malay Municipal Tourism Office showed.
Domestic leisure travel, with 816,426 tourist numbers, or around 78 percent, has been the strong point of the post-pandemic comeback.
The uptick in domestic travel also gathered pace in April and May, with combined arrivals of 340,050.
Meanwhile, foreign arrivals were nearly 200,000. Overseas Filipino Workers account for 25,323 arrivals in the island.
Malay tourism officials are optimistic about the number of international and domestic arrivals reaching pre-pandemic levels this year.
Traditional markets, like mainland China and South Korea, were likely to visit Boracay Island with the reopening of direct flights for inbound travelers to Kalibo International Airport.
In 2020, the volume of visitors dropped dramatically as regional lockdowns and coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic measures were embraced.
Tourists preferred domestic visits due to travel bans in the country amid the uncertainty of the health crisis.
Boracay Island is currently projecting visitor arrivals of two million after the easing of travel restrictions in some Asian countries./PN
