Boracay enterprises gearing up for reopening to NCR tourists

MANILA, Philippines — Boracay enterprises are gearing up for the reopening of the island’s borders to tourists from the National Capital Region (NCR), as they look to recover some of the losses they sustained when arrivals dipped to pandemic lows during the summer period.

Based on data from the Malay Tourism Office, just 1,777 visitors went to Boracay in May, when guests from Metro Manila could only go to the island by chartered flights.

Broken down, about 90 percent of the arrivals recorded from April to May were traced to tourists from Western Visayas, particularly Aklan.

In May, only 23 visitors from Metro Manila traveled to the famed white sand destination, proof that point-to-point flights failed to give Boracay enterprises a much needed boost.

As commercial flights are now allowed to resume, tour guides, operators and service providers prepare for the return of tourists from NCR and its surrounding provinces, collectively known as NCR Plus.

For one, Boracay locals conducted a clean up drive on Friday to make sure that the shores are rid of the waste brought about by the rains and winds of Typhoon Dante.

The clean up covered Angol Beach, the tip of the first station, Diniwid Beach, as well as the Puka Beach. Likewise, residents picked up garbage swept into the areas of Manocmanoc Beach and Cagban Beach.

The Malay Tourism Office also invited visitors from NCR Plus to explore Ilig-Iligan Beach to the east of Boracay, as well as Bolabog Beach on the same side of the island.

During this time of the year, the eastern beaches of Boracay sink to their lowest to showcase their crystal blue waters as a result of the monsoon weather.

In April, Boracay welcomed just 1,481 tourists, the lowest since it reopened in October last year.

The island received 2,630 visitors in October; 4,154 in November; 15,307 in December; 11,898 in January; 16,487 in February and 17,400 in March.

Prior to the lockdown enforced throughout the Philippines due to the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of tourists visited Boracay during summer.

The Malay municipal government said there were 222,230 tourists in Boracay in April 2019, an increase of 87 percent from 118,645 during the same period in 2018.