Visitor arrivals soar in Boracay Island

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

BORACAY - The island of Boracay remains a favorite holiday destination as the number of tourists rose significantly from January to November.

Governor Carlito Marquez said an all-time high of 712,652 foreigners and domestic tourists holidayed in the island, up by 20.27 percent compared to the same period last year.

"The increase in arrivals is attributed to the tourism campaign savvy of stakeholders and resort owners in the island. We are optimistic we could achieve the target of one million tourists by year 2012," he said.

The largest number of tourists visiting the island of Boracay are from Korea, Taiwan, China, United States and Russia. The increase of direct flights from North Asia, including South Korea and Taiwan, to the Kalibo International Airport prompted a surge of international travelers this year.

Zest Air has four weekly regional flights from Incheon, South Korea and twice-weekly flights from Pusan, South Korea. Philippine Airlines is also operating with four regional flights from Taipei, Taiwan while China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines have twice-weekly flights to Kalibo.

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific is also serving the Kalibo International Airport with 14 flights a week and Philippine Airlines with 15 weekly flights from Manila to Kalibo.

Marquez said the province is supportive of the tourism promotion of the local government units and the stakeholders to attract more tourists. The ongoing infrastructure projects and investments, he said, in the Caticlan airport and jetty port will redound to the increased benefits of the tourism industry.

"The provincial government will continue to market the island of Boracay to sustain the significant growth and increase visitor arrivals in the coming years," the governor strssed.

To enhance the security in the Caticlan jetty port, the provincial government has installed x-ray machines for inbound travelers for Boracay Island.

With the rising number of tourists and passengers of roll-on roll-off vessels, the province also plans to install x-ray machines next year for security