ILOILO – The 5th District in the northern part of this province attracted the most number of tourists, besting four other congressional districts last year.
It registered 125,371 tourist arrivals, data from the Provincial Tourism Office showed. These were made up of 121,886 domestic visitors and 3,485 foreign.
The 5th District is made up of the municipalities of Ajuy, Balasan, Barotac Viejo, Batad, Carles, Concepcion, Estancia, Lemery, San Dionisio, San Rafael, and Sara. These are mostly coastal towns with lots of islands and beaches.
Iloilo province was visited by a total of 310,878 tourists in 2017.
The 1st District managed to attract 68,189 tourists; 2nd District, 50,390; 3rd District, 37,140; and 4th District, 29,788.
The 2017 tourist arrivals of the province were 23.18 percent higher than those that the Provincial Tourism Office recorded in 2016 (252,323 tourist arrivals).
In 2016, the 5th District had 86,799 tourists.
Provincial Tourism Office’s data also showed Iloilo’s tourism receipts reaching P5.6 billion last year – a billion-peso higher that the province’s 2016 tourism receipts of P4.5 billion.
Provincial Tourism Officer Gilbert Marin observed a rising trend in tourist arrivals in recent years and last year, Iloilo’s target of 280,000 arrivals was surpassed.
This year, the Provincial Tourism Office set its target tourist arrivals at 300 thousand.
Marin said the mushrooming of more inland resorts most especially in central and northern Iloilo contributed to the increase in tourist arrivals.
Municipal tourism officers became more active, too, in promoting their respective tourist spots, he added.
Iloilo province is made up of 42 municipalities and the component city of Passi.
Marin said the environmental problems in Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan were an eye-
opener for Iloilo’s tourism industry.
With good environment-friendly tourism practices, he said, islands in Iloilo frequently visited by tourists – such as the Gigantes group of islands in Carles town (5th District) – won’t suffer what Boracay is currently experiencing./PN
