556,000 went to Boracay in 2006 — tourism
BY RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ

BORACAY - The volume of visitor arrivals to this tiny island paradise rose 11.3 percent year-on-year in 2006, despite the onslaught of several typhoons that damaged a number of resorts.
Ma. Victoria Jasmin, director of the Department of Tourism’s Office of Tourism Standards, said the increase in arrivals had encouraged more investments in hotels and resorts in the island.
Among the hotels under construction in the island are the Discovery Shores, Shangri-La Boracay Resort and Spa, and Ocean View.
Boracay has suffered in the aftermath of typhoon Seniang, internationally known as Utor, which left a trail of destruction on the island and the province of Aklan late last year.
Tourism Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque said the full occupancy rates of hotels and resorts in Boracay reflected the growth in Philippine tourism, which he said, should encourage more investments in more luxurious accommodation facilities.
Data show that the number of foreign and domestic tourists in Boracay climbed to 556,084 in 2006 from 499,457 in 2005.
Foreign tourists, representing a third of the total, increased 18 percent to 183,835 from 155,744.
Korean tourists, representing two-thirds of total international visitors in the island, numbered 124,618 last year.