INVESTMENT PRIMER: BORACAY ISLAND
Introduction Boracay island is an island situated off the northeastern part of Aklan province in the Philippines. The island has a total land area of 10.32 square kilometers (3.98 square miles) and is under the territorial jurisdiction of the municipality of Malay. In 2012, travel magazine Travel+Leisure declared Boracay island as the best beach in the world beating popular beach destinations like Bali (Indonesia) and Santorini (Greece). Page 1
In 2013, leading travel website TripAdvisor named Boracay island as the world best beach in Asia. Yapak Beach, one of Boracay island's three major beaches also made it to the top 25 best beaches in the survey made by TripAdvisor. Page 2
In 2014, Boracay island has been declared as the 13th Best Place in the World to Spend New Year's eve. It beat popular destinations like Las Vegas, USA, Shanghai and Barcelona. Page 3
Tourism potentials of Boracay island In 2011, a total of 908, 875 tourists visited Boracay. This is an increase of 16.57 percent than in 2010 wherein 779,666 visitors were recorded to have visited Boracay Island. Page 4
Total estimated tourist revenue is P 16,708, 212, 675. This is a big increase from total tourism revenue in 2009 which is P 11,941,102,920. In 2012, tourist arrivals in Boracay island was an all-time high of 41 percent. This is due to big influx of Chinese tourists. The total tourist arrival for 2012 is 1,206,052. Total estimated tourist revenue is P 22, 175,013, 016. Page 5
In 2013, tourist arrivals increased by 13% with a total tourist arrival of 1,363,601. This increase of tourist arrivals is bolstered by visits of international cruise ships to the island. Tourist arrivals in 2013 generated total estimated receipts of P 25,067,622,623.40 in tourist receipts as computed by the Aklan Provincial Tourism Operations Office (PTOO). In 2014, tourist arrivals in Boracay island is 1,472,352 and the total tourism revenue is estimated at P 27,066,835,756.80. All in all, the PTOO estimated tourism receipts in Boracay island at P 117,291,698,934.80 from 2009 to 2014. Page 6
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Tourist Infrastructures in Boracay Due to the consistent increasing arrival of tourists in Boracay island, both the Philippine government and private sector have joined forces to build tourist infrastructure to assure tourism growth. a. Increased airline service to Boracay. The Philippine government in partnership with the private sector has vastly improved the airports for both international and domestic flights to Boracay. Currently, the Kalibo International Airport and the Godofredo Ramos Airport in Caticlan, Malay are servicing Boracay-bound tourists. The Kalibo International Airport has been vastly improved with the construction of a new terminal to handle more tourist arrivals and its runway expanded to accommodate more international flights. Its landing capability has recently been upgraded to be able to night flights. It is currently currently servicing the following major international destinations - Kuala Lumpur (Air Asia), Beijing, Busan, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong (Air Asia), Chongqing, Guangzhou, Seoul- Incheon, Shanghai Pudong (Cebu Pacific Air), Taipei-Taoyuan (China Airlines-Charter), Busan, Seoul-Inchon, Taipei-Taoyuan, Khabarovsk (Philippine Airlines), Hangzhou, Shanghai-Pudong (Philippine Airlines), Singapore (Silkair), Singapore (Tigerair), Hangzou, Shanghai-Pudong (TigerAir), Seoul (Asiana) and Japan (Airasia). On the other hand, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Interisland Airlines are servicing its domestic flights, mostly coming from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. Page 8
In 2014, Russian airline, Yakutia Airlines started to fly to Kalibo International Airport on chartered flights. The Godofredo Ramos Airport in Caticlan is currently servicing domestic flights from Manila and Cebu. Three local airlines are servicing this route: Cebu Pacific (Cebu), Philippine Airlines (Manila) and Skyjet (Manila). By the end of 2015, a new airport will be opened in Caticlan. Costing 5.3 billion pesos this new airport was built by San Miguel Corporation under a 25-year Built, Rehabilitate, Operate and Transfer arrangement with the Philippine government. It will have a terminal building that can service 12 aircrafts at a time with 12 air bridges. Page 9
b. Entry of Cruise Ships in Boracay island. Starting 2012, international cruise liners/ships have made Boracay island its port of call. In 2013, six international cruise liners/ships have visited Boracay and brought a total of 7,762 passengers. In 2014, 10 cruise liners/ships dropped anchor in Boracay island with 11, 752 passengers. For 2015, 4 international cruise liners/ships with 7, 148 passengers have made Boracay island their port of call. In 2016, a big cruise ship MS Celebrity Millineum carrying 2, 138 passengers and 999 crew members will visit the island twice - on January and February. Page 10
c. Power, Road and other Public infrastructure. Aside from building new airports, the Philippine government is also upgrading the Kalibo to Caticlan highway, building an alternate jetty port near the airport and expanding the existing Caticlan Jetty Port and the Cagban (Boracay) Port. Power supply to Boracay is also improved with the construction of new power plants. As of the moment, the Philippine government is constructing a wider highway that will connect the Kalibo International Airport and Caticlan. This "tourism highway" costs P 109.71 million and is nearly finished. Page 11
The Aklan provincial government has constructed an alternate jetty port in Kalibo near the Kalibo International Airport as a jump point for Boracay. Once finished, a fast craft (hydrofoil) service will ferry pasengers from the Kalibo International Airport straight to Boracay island. Page 12
The existing Caticlan Jetty Port that services Caticlan and Boracay will be expanded to include more berthing areas for fast crafts and larger passenger boats. The Aklan Provincial government will also be building a new terminal building, a bigger parking lot and amusement areas on a 36- Page 13
hectare reclaimed land in Caticlan. The 3.18 hectare Cagban Port in Boracay island will also be developed and expanded. This port expansion project has a budget of P 260,000,000 million pesos. On the power infrastructure sector, the Philippine government is fast tracking the construction of power plants and implementation of the 138 KV transmission line to Caticlan to ensure stable power supply to Boracay island. The island's current power requirement is 21 megawatts (total peak 42 megawatts). Power infrastructures are being developed by the private sector like the 135-megawatt coal power plant of Palm Concepcion Power Corp (PCPC) in Northern Iloilo and the 50 Megawatts wind turbines being constructed in Nabas to address projected additional power requirements of 37 megawatts once the New Coast Project of Megaworld and the Caticlan San Miguel Airport will be operational. Page 14