popular publications Travel + Leisure has listed Aklan’s Boracay as one of its readers’ top 25 favorite islands in the world for 2023.
On July 11, T+L wrote: “The Philippines is made up of more than 7,000 islands, and Boracay still stands out. The tiny island is only 4.5 miles long and is known as the ‘island that never sleeps’ for its parties and nightlife.” A Readers of T+L named the island “Best Vacation Destination.” Known for its milky white sand, the island ranked 10th with a reader score of 92.94.
Boracay ranks second only to the Great Barrier Reef Islands in Australia, the Maldives, Bali in Indonesia, Madeira in Portugal, Phuket in Thailand, Skye and the Hebrides in Scotland, Koh Samui in Thailand, Dominica in the Caribbean and Lanka in Malaysia. prestige.
Domestic travelers dominate
According to T+L, nearly 165,000 readers completed the survey this year, a 25% increase on pre-pandemic levels. Favorite Islands findings are based on the following criteria: Natural Attractions/Beaches, Activities/Attractions, Restaurants/Food, People/Friendly and Value. “For each characteristic, respondents could select a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average or poor. The final score was the average of these responses,” the international publication said.
According to the Boracay Malay Tourism Board, the number of visitors to Boracay reached 1.14 million in the first half of this year. The number of domestic tourists was 899,775, accounting for nearly 79% of the total number of tourists during the same period. Foreign tourist arrivals reached 214,754, or 19 percent of total arrivals, while OFW/OFPs were 27,281, or just 2.4 percent of total arrivals during the same period. The Bureau of Immigration defines overseas Filipinos as Filipino passport holders who are permanently residing abroad.
Unlike the pre-pandemic period, domestic tourists now dominate the island’s visitors. Inbound tourists in the first half of 2023 accounted for 96.5% of the 932,433 domestic tourists in 2019.
Best Tropical Getaway
While Palawan failed to make the list of the most popular islands, the province was featured in T+L’s 29 Best Tropical Getaways Around the World, published in February this year, as well as the magazine’s 13 places to see the clearest waters. Ranked 23rd in . World, published in May.
Melissa Locker wrote of the island province’s inclusion on the list of clearest waters: “Despite being a quick flight from Manila, Palawan feels like another world. The The sparsely populated archipelago is made up of jungle-covered islands surrounded by stunning turquoise waters teeming with fish and coral reefs, as well as an incredible array of lagoons, coves and secret beaches.Explore the waters of El Nido, where tropical fish thrive around the reefs. Come together and dive in the azure ocean off Linapacan Island, or brave one of the longest underground rivers in the world.”
According to the Palawan Provincial Tourism Office, Palawan attracted 364,521 tourists in the first quarter of this year, including 183,540 domestic tourists and 180,981 international tourists. Before the outbreak, the total number of tourists in Palawan reached 1.9 million.
Image credit: Stella Arnaldo, Rodrigolab | DreamTime.com
