J. ALBERT GAMBOA l October 31, 2023 l Manila Bulletin
BORACAY, AKLAN – Five years after reopening in October 2018 following its six-month closure, this island paradise has retained its image as the “Beach Capital of the Philippines.” Belonging to the municipality of Malay in Aklan province, it has also bounced back from the two-year lockdowns enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on data from the Malay Municipal Tourism Office, more than 1.5 million visitors have set foot on Boracay Island since the beginning of the year. The busiest months were April and July with 213,736 and 207,696 arrivals, respectively. Year to date, the number of tourists here was 29 percent higher than the corresponding eight-month period in 2022 due to the ease of travel restrictions.
The Department of Tourism expects that the total figure for arrivals in Boracay will surpass the 2.1-million level this year. As of August 2023, there were over 1.2 million domestic tourists and almost 300,000 overseas visitors to the island. The latter reflected a whopping 430 percent jump in international arrivals from the previous year but the aggregate number of inbound travelers remained below pre-pandemic levels.
This robust performance of the domestic tourism industry may be attributed to revenge travel after many got sick and tired of mandated stay-at-home protocols from March 2020 to February 2022. Once these restrictions were lifted, most Filipinos resumed their travel plans with a vengeance to make up for years of forced isolation.
Globally, destination travel and staycations are on the rise especially among millennials as well as the GenZ who came of age during the pandemic. Together with the boomers and GenX, they are on the lookout for places that offer value for money in terms of accommodations, food, and transportation.
Case in point is Boracay, where one can take a vacation that won’t cost an arm and a leg. No need to book five-star hotels when there are plenty of affordable accommodations to choose from. The island has a wide array of restaurants with varied regional and international cuisines, while three major airlines offer budget fares to neighboring Caticlan airport in mainland Aklan.
Events are also back here but more subdued when compared to the pre-closure and pre-COVID eras. Last weekend, the Apolaki Mayari Group hosted a Halloween party at the Boracay Ocean Club where a new magazine named MagBoracay was launched by SugarSmiles Philippines Management Inc. (SPMI).
According to SPMI President Benjamin de Leon Torre, the quarterly magazine seeks to promote Boracay as a sustainable destination resulting from its remarkable makeover. MagBoracay’s Managing Editor Leonae Aguirre Graf said the maiden issue features the new boardwalk along Bulabog Beach that has redefined accessibility to the island’s eastern side, where windsurfing and kiteboarding activities abound.
In a recent article, Time Magazine recognized Boracay as one of the top 50 greatest places to visit on Earth and called it “Paradise Reborn.” A foodie haven with lodging that can fit any personal budget and events that will match every mood, Boracay is indeed living up to its reputation as “Asia’s Best Island” in a 2022 study conducted by Conde Nast – a global media firm that has a following of 920 million consumers across various social platforms.
*** J. Albert Gamboa is a Life Member of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) and Vice-Chair of the FINEX Ethics Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and the Manila Bulletin. #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph