Boracay achieves tourist arrival target

This island resort continues to be a big-time tourist drawer.

After achieving its tourist arrival target for 2016, Boracay aims to accommodate 2 million tourists this year.

A total of 1,724,125 tourists flocked to the island from January to December 2016, records from the Caticlan jetty port showed.

Niven Maquirang, jetty port administrator, said they aimed to accommodate 1.7 million tourists that year.

Among foreign visitors, South Koreans had the most number with 292,869, followed by the Chinese with 259,439 and the Taiwanese, 53,208.

Rounding out the top 10 origins of foreign tourists were Malaysia (24,465), United States (21,274), Australia (14,883), United Kingdom (14,397), Australia (11,978), Russia (9,834), and Singapore (9,724), records showed.

Tourists from Singapore decreased more than half. In 2016, Singaporean visitors numbered 16,446.

And unlike in previous years, Japan did not make it in the top 10 foreign tourist markets. It was replaced by Australia.

Maquirang said they anticipate more tourists this year as Boracay hosts a series of meetings among diplomats during the 2017 Asean Summit.

“Boracay also remains a cruise ship destination in the Asia-Pacific,” said the jetty port administrator.