ILOILO CITY-Tourist arrivals in the island-resort of Boracay enjoy a continued upswing despite the economic difficulties last year, records from the Tourism department showed.

The number of visitors last year reached 499,457, 16.48 percent higher than the 428,755 recorded in 2004. The tourists poured in P8.18 billion which is 38 percent higher than the P7.88 billion earned in 2004.

Domestic tourists comprised the bulk of the visitors reaching 321,893 compared to 156,774 from other countries. Overseas Filipino visitors reached 21,820. Among the foreign visitors, East Asians dominated the number of visitors reaching 114,926, followed by Europeans (23,191) and North Americans (11,327).

Koreans remain at the top in the most number of visitors to the island with 100,922, followed by the United States (9,083), China (5,680) and Germany (5,503).

The increase in tourist arrivals especially of local tourists is attributed to the Roll-on, Roll-off crafts of the government's "Strong Republic Nautical Highway" which have cut the cost of transportation expenses going to Boracay.*NPB

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