With the easing of quarantine age restrictions, visitors from Metro Manila continue to flock to the world-famous Boracay Island, accounting for more than half of the tourist arrivals in the first three weeks of November, according to the latest local government data.
(Tara Yap / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Malay, Aklan Municipal Tourism Office recorded a total of 2,511 tourist arrivals in Boracay from Nov. 1 to 22, with around 70.8 percent or 1,780 arrivals coming from the National Capital Region (NCR).
Majority of tourists also came from the 22 to 59 years old age group, who utilized Caticlan as a port of entry.
The island first reopened to Western Visayas residents on June 16 and later on expanded the tourism bubble to domestic tourists, including those from general community quarantine areas like Metro Manila on Oct. 1
Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) Western Visayas showed that there are a total 250 accommodation establishments in Boracay that have been issued a Certificate of Authority to Operate (CAO) as of Oct. 21.
This translates to a total of 5,723 rooms.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat had earlier announced that the DOT, through its marketing and promotions arm, will provide a total of P8 million to the provincial government of Aklan to cover the cost of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for the island’s 4,000 tourism workers, as it anticipates the entry of more local tourists in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the Malay, Aklan municipal tourism office announced last week that Boracay will be joining the 31st Philippine Travel Mart at SM Megamall Megatrade Hall in Manila this coming Dec. 4 to 6 in a bid to spur the recovery of tourism on the island.
Aside from Boracay, there is no age restriction enforced in other major tourism destinations like Palawan, Baguio, Bohol, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 84 also gave the LGUs the authority to lift age restrictions for tourists in areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).