Boracay tourists’ volume jumps 16 %
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

The provincial government collected more than P73-million terminal and roro fees for the period January to July this year. Caticlan jetty port in Malay, Aklan also contributed to the 31 percent increase in collection of terminal fees / PHOTO BY BOY RYAN ZABAL

BORACAY – The island of Boracay posted a sharp increase in tourist arrivals for the first seven months of the year, thanks to regular weekly international flights from Taiwan, China and South Korea.
Governor Carlito Marquez said 51,000 tourists from July 1 to 28 visited the famous island of Boracay or 26 percent increase compared to the month of July last year, which posted 40,680 tourist arrivals with 26,350 domestic tourists and 14,330 foreigners.
“The foreigners and locals enjoyed our beachfront, and there could be no lean season in the island of Boracay with the increasing trend of tourism arrivals,” said Marquez in his Governor’s Report to the People over RGMA DyRU Super Radyo Kalibo.
From January to July this year, the island of Boracay registered 496,000 or more than 71,000 tourists compared to the same period last year of 424,000 or an increase of 16.89 percent for the first seven months.
The provincial government also generated revenues of P73.059-million from January to July from terminal and roll on roll off fees in Caticlan and Cagban jetty ports or P17.34-million or 31.13 percent higher than the revenues collected last year of the same period.
Marquez said foreign tourists take full advantage of the weekly flights from regional destinations to Kalibo International Airport in the capital town of Kalibo.
He cited the two weekly flights of China Southern Airlines from Pudong, China, Spirit of Manila Airlines from Taipei, Taiwan and Zest Air from Incheon, South Korea with six weekly flights. Philippine Airlines from Taipei, Taiwan and China Mandarin Airlines from Taichung, China and Taipei, Taiwan also contributed to the increasing number of tourists to Aklan and the island of Boracay with two weekly regional flights.
Marquez said the new airline company Spirit of Manila Airlines owned by Filipino and Chinese businessmen will acquire six 145-seat brand new airplanes for the proposed two flights daily to Kalibo from Taipei.
Spirit of Manila Airlines flew more than 2,000 tourists from Taipei, Taiwan to Kalibo International Airport after its airline operations last July 2, the governor said.