ILOILO CITY—Tourist arrivals on Boracay Island reached more than 23,000 this month, the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March last year.
From June 1 to 27, the Malay, Aklan tourism office recorded 23,599 tourist arrivals.
With three remaining days in the month, the figure already surpassed the previous peak of 16,487 visitors in February.
Of the total number, around 64 percent or 15,075 were from Metro Manila, 5,170 from Calabarzon, and 1,736 from Central Luzon.
The popular resort island was closed to tourists in March last year amid travel and community quarantine restrictions.
It was reopened starting June 16 to tourists from Western Visayas and other areas on Oct. 1 last year.
Tourist arrivals reached 2,630 in October and increased to 4,154 in November.
During the holiday season in December, tourist arrivals reached 15,307 before diminishing to 11,898 in January and rising to 16,487 in February.
But the lockdown in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in March again led to a sharp drop in tourist arrivals.
Flights from Manila to Caticlan in Malay town resumed June 3 after the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed leisure travel to and from the National Capital Region and Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal provinces.
Airlines have added flights from and to Caticlan due to the volume of tourists.
Boracay-bound tourists are required to submit a negative COVID-19 test result (either through saliva or swab specimen) within 72 hours before their trip to the island. A confirmed hotel booking is also required.
Tourist arrivals before the pandemic ranged from 3,000 to 5,000 daily.
But business owners and residents dependent on tourism for their livelihood have welcomed the influx of tourists after many businesses shut down or retrenched workers.