During a press conference here Monday, Mayor Raymar Rebaldo said they are planning to maximize the local tri-media and tap other resources to promote the festival in honor of its patron saint Sto. Nino.

The recently concluded Ati-atihan festival held last week saw thousands of revelers attending it that even the festival organizers were surprised to note that the Sunday procession which usually lasts for four hours only has extended to seven hours.

“The recent Ati-atihan is also successful because of the peace and order. There is no casualty during the revelry,” said Rebaldo.

The records from the PTO were displayed during the weeklong statistical exhibit held at the lobby of the Provincial Capitol Building here as one of the activities of the province in observance of Statistics Month.

For the period, foreign tourists were counted at 144,502 while domestic tourists were at 291,953. Overseas Filipinos who visited the island, on the other hand, reached 44,702.

Total tourism receipts generated for the period reached P8,845,301,593.80. Of these, foreign tourists contributed P4,996,561,255.60 while local tourists contributed P4,482,594,990.50.

The report from the PTO also yielded last year’s top ten foreign nationalities who visited the island. Korean visitors had the biggest number with 128,909 followed by Japan, 35,294; U.S.A., 13,362; China, 12,720; United Kingdom, 5,514; Hong Kong, 4,514; Germany, 4,351; Taiwan, 3,621; Australia, 3,420 and Canada, 3,158.

By 2010, the island of Boracay targets to have 1,000,000 visitors. This year’s figures are still expected to swell as there are three more remaining months of the year.

The Kalibo Airport in Aklan province is one of the gateways to Boracay, the country’s top beach destination.

Taipei-based Mandarin Airlines has launched its first direct flight to Kalibo Saturday to give Taiwanese tourists easier access to Boracay, which is an ideal vacation spot for Taiwanese because of its proximity.

“With fuel prices soaring these days, the air ticket prices are higher to Japan, Korea, North America, and Europe. Southeast Asia is thus a very good choice for passengers who want a very reasonable price,” said Mandarin Airlines’ Richard Ma.

“The Philippines is a very good choice. Thailand is also competitive, but we believe that service attitude, service standards of Filipinos are very good,” he said.

The next six consecutive flights of Mandarin Airlines are fully booked.

The airline will fly twice a week to Kalibo, which becomes its fourth destination in the country.

Taiwan visitors comprise the third biggest number of tourists in the Philippines, after Koreans and Americans.

According to Mandarin Airlines officials, they plan to increase their flights but limitations of the Kalibo airport had to be considered.

Local officials assured though that improvements in Kalibo Airport are now under way to make it adhere to international standards.

“The first phase is to expand the Kalibo terminal. The next phase in 2009 is lengthening of runway, because the present runway is 2,100 meters, which is quite tiny. International standards require 2,500 meters. Next year, the project is to extend the runway to another 400 meters to the sea,” said Aklan Rep. Joeben Miraflores.

“Initially, we were a little bit surprised by this tiny airport. We were afraid that we will not have enough space here because we have 160 passengers. But with the help of airport officials, we did very good,” Ma said.

An estimated P1 billion is needed for the upgrade of the airport.

Although the completion may take at least two years or more, more international airlines are expected to fly to Kalibo in the coming months, one of which is the Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines.

Around half a million tourists visited Boracay in 2007, and the local government expects this figure to double this year since the island’s visitors have already reached seven hundred thousand for just the first four months of the year. — Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN News

This, as President Gloria Macapagal—Arroyo is set to implement an unrepealed Martial Law Proclamation making Boracay a national park and placing its resources under the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA)’s control and administration.

The move will be made as the Chief Executive wants to protect and preserve Boracay’s tourism value which spreads throughout Aklan, while guaranteeing sustainability of the island’s resources and livelihood.

It would be recalled that the Arroyo administration is resolved in investing in vital infrastructures which also includes means to take care of the environment as a reflection of the government’s commitment to better the Filipino people’s quality of life.

In a related development, P200 million worth double lane new Ibajay bridge will be inaugurated to replace the existing Reinforced Concrete Deck Girder (RCDG) bridge, leading to the Caticlan Jetty port that serves as a jump-off point to Boracay island.

The Arroyo government has already expressed gratitude to United Kingdom’s soft loan of over P1 Billion plus a grant of P560 million for the construction of 242 UK steel bridges in the country, including the new Ibajay bridge.

This early, new Ibajay bridge is already seen as a gateway for more developments in the Panay island.

According to the office of Kalibo Mayor Raymar Rebaldo here, this time, the international flight will come from Taipei, Taiwan.

Air Transportation Officer Manager Engr. Percy Malonesio said the flight from Taiwan through Mandarin Airlines will arrive at the Kalibo International Airport on May 31 bringing in some 168 Taiwanese passengers on board Boeing 737 Series Turbo Jet.

It is seen that the flights from Taiwan will be arriving twice a week which will further boost and enhance Aklan’s tourism industry with Boracay Island as the main attraction and Kalibo with its many attractions like the Kalibo Sto. Nino Ati-atihan Festival, its Bakhawan Eco-Park and its Manggad it Kalibo tour package.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo underscored recently the importance of promoting tourist destinations and the availability of vital infrastructure to attract more tourists and achieve government’s goal of hosting five million tourists by 2010.

The President vowed full government support in the two concerns – promotions and accessibility in a three-in-one interview with local and national media at the Gota Beach at Caramoan Island.

She said good roads and airports are vital for tourists to reach their destinations thus the government has gone into a surge in infrastructure.

Promotion is equally important, she said, as there is a need for tourists to be informed of the natural beauty spots of the country, such as the Caramoan Island, which she described as “paradise …the Boracay of Bicol.”

The President stressed that there is a need to develop cultural tourism aside from eco-tourism thus she ordered the tourism department to coordinate with non-government organizations to come up with a tourism masterplan for the Caramoan and Lahuy islands, which are considered poor and the remotest areas in the region.

The government has identified the tourism sector as one of the biggest contributors to the government’s goal of creating six to ten million jobs until 2010.