Chinese top Boracay violators

Boracay Island (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP)

BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan, Philippines — Chinese tourists have topped the list of violators of laws and ordinances being implemented on Boracay Island which was closed last year to tourists to undergo rehabilitation.

Tourism officials said they would enhance education and information campaign especially on foreign tourists to raise awareness on the rules and regulations being implemented on the island.

Out of the 1,043 violators recorded from January to March this year, 605 or 58 percent were tourists from China. This was followed by Koreans with 220 or 21.09 percent.

Filipino violators numbered 73 or 6.99 percent.

Smoking ban

The violations include those related to ordinances banning smoking along the beach and other nonsmoking areas, carrying of glass bottles along the beach, regulation on tour guides and the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles and drones.

The proportion of Chinese violators relative to the total number was double the percentage of Chinese tourists compared to the total tourists who visited the island in the first quarter of the year.

Data from the Malay municipal tourism office showed that 512,516 foreign and domestic tourists visited the island from January to March this year.

Of this number, 149,019 were from China (29.07 percent) and 97,797 (19.08 percent) from Korea. Local tourists reached 184,632 or 36.02 percent.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said she had discussed with her Chinese counterpart the focus of the country on sustainable tourism and agritourism.

She said they were unable to discuss specific issues including those of Chinese tourists in the country and Boracay.