BORACAY – Tourist arrivals in this world-famous resort island hit 2,034,599 in 2019, according to the Malay municipal tourism office, increasing by 116 percent from 2018.
People from China, Korea and Taiwan registered as the top three visitors of the island, the municipal tourism office said, accounting for 83 percent or 865,419 of the total foreigners from Jan. to Dec. last year.
Around 434,175 Chinese tourists, who topped the list of foreign arrivals, have stayed in the island.
Korea landed on the second spot with 400,610 tourist arrivals followed by Taiwan with 30,634.
Included in the top 10 arrivals were tourists from countries such as the United States with 24,827; United Kingdom (13,715); Australia (12,785); Russia (12,784); Japan (11,474); Saudi Arabia (10,789); and Germany (7,441).
The Malay municipal tourism office recorded a total of 443,468 inbound travelers who visited the island on April and May last year while the month of June accommodated 189,444 tourists.
It also registered a total of 932,433 domestic tourists which was up by 163 percent from 2018 with 64,547 overseas Filipino workers.
The growth in tourist arrivals can be attributed to the increase in connectivity from mainland China and Korea to the Aklan province and the influx of visitors after the six months temporary closure of the island, the municipal tourism office said.
In 2018, over 941,000 people visited this island, of the figure, foreigners tallied 565,341 tourist arrivals while 354,558 came from local tourists.(With a report from Akean Forum/PN)
