ILOILO – Tourist arrivals in this province totaled 335,779 in 2018 – 8.01 percent higher than 2017’s 310,878 visitors.
Of last year’s tourist arrivals, 330,223 were domestic visitors while 5,556 were foreign, an unofficial report of the Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) showed.
In 2017, there were 305,318 domestic tourists in the province and 5,547 foreign.
On the other hand, the province’s tourism receipts in 2018 reached P6,103,190,499.30 – higher than 2017’s P5,658,839,308.20.
Municipalities with the most number of tourist arrivals last year were Carles (64,205), Estancia (40,513) and Leganes (30,892).
According to PTO chief Gilbert Marin, his office’s promotion of Iloilo’s tourist attractions in national and local trade fairs, social media and websites of local government units helped increase the tourist arrivals.
Comments of tourists posted on social media and the websites were being taken seriously, added the PTO, to further improve local tourism offerings.
Local festivals also contributed in making tourists more interested to visit the province, said Marin.
“Tourists want to experience other festivals nga quite different from the Dinagyang Festival,” he said.
The six-month closure of Boracay Island last year from April to October also helped, said Marin, noting the surge in tourist arrivals in Carles (specifically the Gigantes group of islands) during those months.
Carles’ Mayor Siegfredo Betita confirmed this.
“Daku gid ang na-contribute sang pag-close sang Boracay, especial sang summer. Some 38 accommodation establishments in Carles experienced a surge in bookings,” said Betita./PN
