ILOILO City – The Department of Tourism (DOT) has been urged to review the carrying capacity of Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan as well as open talks with airlines for direct flights to Kalibo from Singapore.
These were among the concerns that Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) vice president for Visayas Peter Tay, who is based in Boracay, brought to the attention of Tourism secretary Christina Frasco during a meeting in Manila on Wednesday.
A study commissioned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2018 determined the island’s carrying capacity at 19,215 tourists a day or about 6,405 arrivals a day based on an average three-day stay.
However, Tay said, such carrying capacity is not balanced with the available room accommodations on the island which presently range from 12,000 to 14,000.
“It is very limited. I explained to her and I’m glad that she agreed that 6,500 is indeed a small number. DOT will revisit it. Of course, the Secretary never committed that they will readjust it, but they will revisit the carrying capacity,” he said.
While there was no discussion as to the possible increase, Tay said it was good that the Secretary was receptive and understood the position of the tourism players on the island.
The TCP official also brought up the possibility of opening direct flights to and from Singapore.
“We used to have direct flights from Singapore. It is like a gateway for many countries because of its strategic location. This is something that the Secretary is also very open. She will be having discussions with airlines about it,” he said.
Currently, there are two airline companies servicing direct flights to Boracay from South Korea via the Kalibo International Airport.
“I’m very glad that we have a Secretary who is willing to listen. She would take the necessary proactive action of all the things that need to be done, I am very positive that something great is going to happen in the days to come,” Tay said.
The new DOT secretary is also looking forward to visit Boracay, he added.
TCP is a consultative body composed of tourism players from the private sector and former secretaries of the department assisting the government in the development and implementation of tourism policies. (PNA/PN)
