GRADUAL RETURN | Restaurants and other shops in Boracay have reopened as tourists from Metro Manila and provinces in the Western Visayas region start to return to the resort island in Malay, Aklan. (File photo by JACK JARILLA)
ILOILO CITY, Iloilo, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT-6) in Western Visayas has accredited 337 accommodation establishments on Boracay Island as domestic tourists continue to flock to the island-resort.
Business owners and the local government of Aklan province and Malay town, where the popular destination is located, were also preparing for international chartered direct flights set to resume this month.
The 337 establishments that were given accreditation as of June 9 included hotels, resorts and other businesses offering accommodation services, according to the DOT-6, which posted the list on its website.
Surge of tourists
These businesses were compliant with health and safety protocols, the regional tourism office said.
The island has been experiencing a surge of domestic tourists after two years of COVID-19 travel and quarantine restrictions.
Domestic tourist arrivals reached a record-high of 193,298 in May, or around 96 percent of the total tourists arrivals of 201,368.
It exceeded the prepandemic numbers of leisure travelers, which were 149,292 in April 2017 and the 135,543 in May 2019.
From June 1 to June 10 this year, tourist arrivals reached 66,215 or an average of 6,621 daily. Domestic tourists accounted for 63,571 or 96 percent of the arrivals.
Foreign tourists in May reached 4,268 and 1,524 for the first 10 days of this month.
Visitors from the United States were the top foreign arrivals on the island in May, at 862, followed by the United Kingdom (404), Korea (367), Australia (322) and Canada (185).
Businesses and local governments have also started to prepare for an expected rise in foreign tourist arrivals with the direct chartered flights from Incheon, South Korea, to Kalibo International Airport, located in Aklan’s capital town of Kalibo, scheduled on June 17 and June 22.
—NESTOR P. BURGOS JR.
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