Tourist arrivals in the world-famous Boracay Island resort are gradually picking up amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Records from the Malay Municipal Tourism Office showed that from February 1 to 28,2021, the island received a total of 16,487 tourists.
Last month, about 63.36 percent or 10,446 of the total number of visitors in Boracay came from the National Capital Region. These were followed by tourists from CALABARZON Region with 2,984 arrivals and Western Visayas with 1,741.
Also included in the top 10 visitors of Boracay were from Central Luzon with 966 arrivals; Central Visayas with 78; Ilocos Region, 52; Northern Mindanao and Cagayan Valley with 34 arrivals each; Cordillera Administrative Region, 33, Bicol 31; and Davao with 22 arrivals.
Based also on the report of Malay MTO, majority of the tourists in the island were aged 22 to 59 years old with 14,019 arrivals; while 2,174 tourists were zero to 21 years old; and 294 were senior citizens.
Meanwhile, with the announcement of the National Inter-Agency Task Force on the uniform protocol on local travel and relaxing travel documents, the Local Government of Malay clarified on its March 2, 2021 advisory that in the meantime, there will be no changes on the requirements for incoming local tourists to Boracay Island.
The negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with 72-hour validity, Online Health Declaration, confirmed booking with the Department of Tourism accredited hotel and proof of identification for tourists are still required.
The Malay government is currently working on several proposals to make the requirements easier for local tourists.LTP/SQP/PIA Aklan
