ILOILO CITY – Boracay remains one of the top destinations in the country, with around 183,096 local and foreign tourists trooping in the island resort in the month of July alone.
Based on the data released by the Malay Tourism Office, the bulk of the visitors were still domestic tourists with a total of 160,259. There were also 16,730 foreign visitors and 6,107 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
The number though paled in comparison to last month’s arrivals which recorded 10,500 more than the July arrivals.
Last June, there were 193,650 visitors. This accounted for the 182,508 domestic tourists. There were also 6,873 foreign tourists and 4,269 OFWs.
The July arrivals also are a far cry from the record set during the pandemic period. It was last May 2022 when about 201,368 visited the beach resort.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the local governments of Aklan province and Malay town have expressed optimism that tourist arrivals will keep on increasing for the rest of the year, especially that direct international flights have resumed at Kalibo International Airport.