Boracay is back in business, arrivals hit 1.17M from Jan to Aug

Image credit: Jony's Beach Resort

BORACAY Island is back in business, with tourist arrivals reaching 1.17 million from January to August 27, 2022.

Data provided by the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 6 showed, of the total, 390,157 came from the National Capital Region; 231,227 were from Region 6 (Western Visayas); and 207,162 were from Region 4-A (Calabarzon). Close to 78,000 were visitors from abroad including overseas Filipinos.

From February 10 to August 27, tourists from South Korea reached 20,984, accounting for the bulk of the 53,718 foreign tourists for that period, as carriers from Incheon have been flying since June. DOT-Region 6 Director Christine Mansinares told the BusinessMirror, “We now have direct scheduled flights from Korea to Kalibo.”

Korean carriers such as Air Seoul, T’Way, Air Busan, and Jin Air have been flying to Kalibo; T’Way in particular, had daily flights, while the rest have twice or thrice weekly flights. Local carries like Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have also been flying the lucrative route.

Squid Game, island edition

Popular actors Kwangil Seo and Kim Dong Won of Netflix’s global phenomenon Squid Game were even sighted on Boracay recently, proving the popularity of the island resort to Koreans.

Ging Salme, manager of Jony’s Beach Resort along Station 1, confirmed that both actors stayed for five days and four nights at the resort in the first week of August. They flew in via Caticlan from Manila.

“Usually, Koreans want big hotels with swimming pools and most of them travel in a group. Some stay overnight then they just go hotel hopping,” she added.

Jony’s market continues to be mostly Filipinos, “and [last] weekend, our occupancy reached 90 percent, while on the average, it is 75-80 percent including weekdays.”

Prepandemic, in 2019, tourist arrivals in Boracay reached 2 million, with Koreans ranking in second place at 400,610, after China which topped foreign guests at 434,175.

Everywhere on the island, Korean restaurants have been popping up, while regular restaurants have also been providing Korean staples like bibimbap, kimchi, and japchae in their menus. Marita, a waitstaff at a popular Asian restaurant on the island said in Ilonggo, “The Korean dishes are popular not just with the Koreans, but with us Filipinos. Maybe because we watch a lot of Korean telenovelas?”

Double whammy

The Covid-19 pandemic was the second whammy that Boracay businesses experienced, after the economic downturn it suffered when the island was closed for six months in 2018, for government infrastructure and rehabilitation efforts. This had room rates diving as low as P2,500 per night in many 30-room hotels when the island was reopened in October 2018.

Room rates on the island have already slightly risen since the lowering of Covid Alert Levels in Metro Manila, and in many regions. Those same room rates on the island are now averaging P4,000-P5,000 a night, confirmed local stakeholders.

Even taho vendor, Lando, is now selling the popular breakfast for P50 for a small cup (which costs just P20 in Metro Manila). But he has also adapted to the Covid situation, and accepts payments in GCash.

The Sunnyside Group, for its part, has just opened new branches of its celebrated restaurants on the island, along with a new hotel, Seaworthy Boracay, and a new restaurant Percy Seafood.

Group founder Nowie Potenciano said: “We decided to open our new hotel and restaurants despite the pandemic because we were hoping to take advantage of opportunities that opened up after the past two years. It has always been difficult to get spaces for lease on the island but during the pandemic, some became available.” He also confirmed, “Business has improved significantly since the alert levels have been dropped and this is probably because of the improved mobility of travelers.”

*Source: Business Mirror