ILOILO City – As pandemic restrictions continue to slacken, more local and foreign tourists are returning to the world-famous Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan.
Data from the Malay Tourism Office showed that the tourist arrivals last month of March doubled compared to February.
For the whole month of March, the island logged 150,597 total tourist arrivals, which was over 70,000 higher than the 80,882 tourist arrivals in the whole month of February.
Majority of the tourists who visited Boracay last month were domestic, totaling to 146,440.
Meanwhile, tourist arrivals involving foreign nationals also increased from 434 in February to 2,533 in March.
The foreign tourists with the highest arrivals in March were from United States of America (603), followed by those from United Kingdom (211), United Arab Emirates (201), Germany (161), Canada (137), and Australia (121).
The island also welcomed 1,624 Overseas Filipino Workers (OWFs) or overseas Filipinos last month – also higher compared to 353 who visited in February.
Aklan’s economy is hugely dependent on tourism in Boracay Island.
Since the pandemic started in 2020, global travel was hampered and many tourism-dependent businesses were hit hard.
Until now, airlines have yet to confirm direct or chartered flights from mainland China, South Korea, Macau or Taiwan to the Kalibo International Airport in Kalibo, Aklan.
There is no curfew at the moment and masks are required at all times in public – even outdoors in Boracay Island.
The province of Aklan is still battling the coronavirus, with caseloads slowly declining and restrictions easing in Alert Level 1. /PN
