Boracay loses P6M daily from dropped bookings

ILOILO CITY—Boracay Island’s tourism industry stands to lose at least P187 million monthly or P6 million daily with the cancellation of hotel bookings and tours of Taiwanese tourists, a tourism official said.

Helen Catalbas, Western Visayas tourism director, said an average of 7,500 Taiwanese tourists visit the popular island-resort monthly and each tourist spends an average of $600 for accommodations and other expenses while on the island.

This would amount to a total of $4.5 million, or P187.4 million monthly.

The estimate excludes airline and other revenues, according to Catalbas.

Taiwanese tourists are the second top foreign market of Boracay and the fifth in the country.

In 2012, 92,209 tourists from Taiwan topped Boracay tourist arrivals, next only to Korea, which had 156,445 tourists. China was third with 82,358 tourists.

But tourist arrivals from Taiwan have dropped significantly due to cancellation of tours and booking amid the diplomatic row between Taiwan and the Philippines.

The row was triggered by the killing of Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-chen, 65, by Philippine Coast Guard personnel in the waters off Balintang Island in northern Philippines on May 9.

At least 43 chartered flights from May 20 to June 30 between the capital town of Kalibo in Aklan and Taiwan have been canceled.

The resorts and hotels in Boracay have also reported cancellation for bookings for hundreds of rooms.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is boosting its marketing and promotional efforts in other countries to offset the slack in tourist arrivals due to the cancellations.

The targeted countries include Korea, China, United States, Australia, Russia, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

Catalbas left for Japan on Sunday as part of a Philippine business mission, which will visit four cities and meet with about 200 travel agents, and market Western Visayas as a tourist destination.

The DOT in Western Visayas is targeting three million tourists in the region this year, a 15-percent increase from the estimated 2.6 million recorded in 2012.