MANILA – Tourist arrivals in the country increased by 8.4 percent in August despite the closure of Boracay, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Saturday.
Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the agency is targeting 7.4 million tourist arrivals this year from 6.6 million last year.
Romulo-Puyat said most tourists came from Korea, followed by China, the United States, Japan, and Australia.
“The No. 1 in the EU is actually the UK. It increased from January to July by 9.3 percent and they stay here two weeks at gumagastos,” she told radio DZMM.
“I don’t have the statistics pero the UK, Japanese and Koreans definitely spend a lot. Lalo na ‘yung UK kasi malayo pinanggalingan.”
Cebu is the primary tourist spot, according to Romulo-Puyat.
“The beach, the food . . . People actually come for the food. We are actually encouraging people to go straight na kasi ang ganda ganda ng Mactan-Cebu Airport,” she said.
The tourism chief, meanwhile, reiterated that smoking, drinking, and big parties will be prohibited in Boracay once it reopens on October 26.
The Department of Tourism has also released a new list of Boracay establishments where tourists may stay once the island reopens.
Romulo-Puyat said the island’s reopening on Oct. 26 is just the first phase of the island’s rehabilitation. She said the second phase will be completed on April 2019, while the third phase is expected to be completed by December 2019.
The island was closed in April to give way to a massive cleanup and the rehabilitation of its roads and sewerage system after President Rodrigo Duterte called the tourist destination a “cesspool.”
One of the country’s most popular beach destinations, Boracay has been plagued with sewage problems and overcrowding, with hotels and shops violating zoning and environment regulations. (ABS-CBN News)
