Chinese, Koreans continue to dominate Boracay arrivals

AKLAN, Philippines – China and South Korea continued to be the largest sources of visitors to Boracay Island for the first 5 months of 2019.

Data from the Malay Municipal Tourism Office showed that about 79% of the total number of tourists in Boracay from January to May came from China and Korea.

New airline routes and warmer Philippine ties with China helped boost Chinese tourist arrivals to Boracay, with 218,161 tourists from mainland China recorded during the period nearly twice as much or 46% more than the 148,964 who visited the island in the same period last year. 

Korean tourists comprised the next biggest group with 160,973 arrivals, up by 7% from 150,876 in the first 5 months of 2018.

There were 955,984 foreign and local tourists who visited Boracay from January to May,  9% more than the  947,343 recorded in the same period in 2018.

Foreign tourists outnumbered local tourists, with  480,856 foreign tourist arrivals recorded during the period, up by 12% from last year’s 430,785.  

In comparison, Filipino tourists to the famed island resort fell by 10% during the January-May period, or to 443,182 from 493,159 in the same period in 2018.

Markets

Other key sources of tourists to Boracay are the United States with 12,424 tourist arrivals from that country, Taiwan with 10,953, and Russia with 6,614.

East Asians or tourists from Japan, Hong Kong, China, Korea, and Taiwan dominated the regional market with 397,518 arrivals.

North Americans or tourists from the US, Canada, and Mexico registered a total of 16,462 arrivals while Northern Europeans from Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Ireland totaled 12,944.

Data also showed that a total of with 5,849. Southeast Asians from Singapore, Brunei, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand visited the island from January to May.

As of June 4, the inter-agency task force in Boracay accredited 358 accommodation establishments with 12,952 rooms.  – Rappler.com