Boracay officials track down, monitor 2,000 Chinese tourists still on island
By Tara Yap
Local officials of Malay town, Aklan province are tracking down and monitoring the Chinese tourists still on world-famous Boracay Island amid the growing worry over novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019 nCoV ARD).
“We have to monitor our Chinese guests,” Mayor Frolibar Bautista told Manila Bulletin in a Tuesday night phone interview.
Contrary to earlier reports, not all Chinese tourists have left Boracay, the country’s most popular beach destination.
Bautista explained that it was only the chartered flights between Kalibo Airport and Wuhan, the epicenter of 2019 nCoV ARD, that were initially canceled.
“The other Chinese tourists came to Boracay via other international flights from mainland China that landed in Kalibo Airport and even in Manila. Their stay in Boracay also depended on their booking schedules,” Bautista said. “For instance, some of them are staying 10 days while others are staying 20 days.”
Based on the estimate of the Malay Tourism Office, around 2,000 Chinese tourists are currently in Boracay.
Engr. Eusebio Monserate Jr., acting chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) at Kalibo Airport, said the Chinese tourists cannot fly directly to mainland China after President Duterte extended the temporary travel last Sunday (Feb. 2).
Monserate also confirmed to Manila Bulletin that another batch of Chinese tourists from Shanghai landed in Kalibo Sunday.
Meanwhile, the nCoV task force of the Malay local government is appealing for stronger cooperation from the management teams of Boracay’s hotels and resorts where the Chinese tourists are staying.
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