Officials optimistic 2 million tourists visit Boracay in 2017

The Aklan provincial government is confident 2 million tourists will visit this resort island this year.

Niven Maquirang, jetty-port administrator, said that early this year, they already targeted 2  million tourists to visit Boracay in 2017.

“From January to November 30 this year, we already registered 1.828 million tourists in Boracay,” Maquirang said.

Already, the figure is higher compared to that of 2016 year-round arrivals, which reached 1.7 million. This year’s tourist arrival is, so far, considered the highest number of tourist arrivals for Boracay.

“We are still monitoring data if we could indeed reach 2 million tourists this year. Once we reach the desired target, we could then study how many tourists we desire for 2018,” Maquirang said.

At least 10 cruise ships from all over the world visit the island every year, testifying to the potential of the island to  become a cruise-ship hub in the region.

Also, the continued awards received by Boracay as among the best beaches in the world is a factor for the increasing number of tourists in the island.

Recently, Boracay was named among the top 10 destinations for kids in Asia. At least two national pageants also hold their event here in Boracay—the bikini portion of the Miss World-Philippines and the evening-gown competition for Miss Asia Pacific International.