INFLUX OF TOURISTS. Tourists enjoy the white sand beach of Boracay Island on Good Friday (April 15, 2022). During the Holy Week, Boracay Island has recorded 44,981 tourist arrivals -- the highest was on Maundy Thursday with 12,266 guests. (PNA photo courtesy of Jun Aguirre)
ILOILO CITY – The tourist arrivals in Boracay Island for this year’s Holy Week celebration is almost closer to the number of guests for the said period before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Malay chief tourism operations officer Felix Gregorio Delos Santos, in a phone interview on Monday, said from April 11 to 17, they have recorded 44,981 tourist arrivals; the highest was on Holy Thursday with 12,266 guests.
“Holy week is more of a family day so they brought along members of their family. And mostly really celebrate the Holy Week in Boracay,” he said.
During the Holy Week in 2018, the Malay Municipal Tourism Office has recorded 46,610 guests and 57,205 for the same period in 2019.
Beach parties were prohibited on the island during the Holy Week, especially on the 30 meters easement from the beach line as part the rehabilitation of the island.
In 2019, Malay’s Sangguniang Bayan passed Resolution No. 015, temporarily suspending permits for beach parties during Good Friday.
“In terms of peace and order and security we have zero incident, so the visit of our tourists was successful because there was no untoward incident that happened here in Boracay,” he added.
Majority of the guests were domestic tourists, mostly from the National Capital Region (NCR) plus, Western and Central Visayas, and Calabarzon.
Foreign guests were from United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany and other European countries.
Delos Santos said they are hoping to have the same tourist arrivals from April 16 up to May 1 when they celebrate “Love Boracay” or formerly “LaBoracay”.
The celebration marked the start of the closure of the island for rehabilitation as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018.
“Hope they can visit during our Love Boracay since they are already here and be responsible tourists since we still have local ordinances that they have to respect and follow,” he added.
The peak season in Boracay usually starts in March.
Delos Santos said with the influx of tourists, the health and safety of their guests and residents is still a top priority to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The province of Aklan is under Alert Level 1. (PNA)
