BORACAY – The tourism arrival remains slow in Boracay Island due to tight travel restrictions.
The first half of January 2022 with 30,000 tourist arrivals is still encouraging although below the pre-pandemic levels.
The island has started welcoming visitors safely last year but the travel demand was aggravated by the recent spike of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of variants, and the continued imposition of travel restrictions.
Boracay Island posted improved inbound travel of 181,000 in November-December 2021 before the province of Aklan was placed under Alert Level 3.
Chief Operations Tourism officer Felix Delos Santos said the number of tourists drops steeply to around 400 daily in light of rising cases, with tourists choosing to stay home and afraid to travel.
Since this month, only tourists with a negative swab or nasal test, regardless of vaccination status, are allowed to enter a Boracay Island, while curfew hours are extended from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next day.
Tourism has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to the shutdown and caused job losses and economic hardships for accommodation establishments.
The northern town of Aklan continues to administer COVID-19 vaccines to the eligible population in an attempt for a strong bounce back in leisure travel in the post-pandemic world.
Malay, Aklan is leading the way in terms of vaccination rate. Vaccination rollout has boosted hopes for tourism to rebound – to date, 42,441 people or 107 percent have received at least their first dose of Covid-19 vaccines.
As of January 24, 2022, the town of Malay reported 119 active cases, of which, five infected with coronavirus were hospitalized. /PN
