By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
BORACAY — Tourist arrivals in this island resort registered a 9.63 percent growth in the first five months of this year.
A total of 735,053 tourists visited Boracay from January to May this year, while only 670,479 visitors came here in the same period last year, latest Department of Tourism (DOT) records showed.
“In May alone, 167,506 travelers stayed in Boracay Island, compared to 151,017 tourists (in the same month) last year,” DOT-Boracay officer-in-charge Artemio Ticar said.
In the same month, the number of international tourists increased by 23 percent to 50,048 this year from 40,617 last year.
On the other hand, the number of domestic tourists increased by 6.6 percent to 113,445 this year from 106,375 last year.
Visitors from Korea composed the biggest share of the tourism market last month with 18,932 arrivals.
Other top sources of tourist arrivals are China, with 12,429, and Taiwan, with 3,747.
DOT is targeting to surpass the 1.5-million tourist arrival target in Boracay this year. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
