According to the Department of Tourism (DOT), 5.36 million tourists visited Western Visayas in 2023, bringing in PHP70 billion.
Just 550,000 of the total arrivals were from outside the country; the remaining visitors were residents who supported the local economy, according to DOT-6 Assistant Regional Director Phoebe Zelie C. Areño.
Huge increase
Areño stressed that compared to the 4.2 million visitor arrivals in 2022, the region's tourist arrivals last year showed a 22.88 percent rise.
With 2.2 million visitors, Aklan—home of the well-known Boracay Island—saw the greatest number of arrivals.
With 1,122,408 visitors and a whopping PHP 22.64 billion in tourism receipts, Aklan remains the most popular destination in the region.
Iloilo City brought in 886,283 tourists, followed by Bacolod City with 780,916. 694,015 tourists arrived in Negros Occidental, 318,535 in Iloilo Province, 196,844 in Capiz, 149,509 in Antique, and 133,818 in Guimaras.
Top foreigners
With 199,114 arrivals, Korea was the country from which the majority of foreign visitors originated.
The USA accounted for 66,513 arrivals of international tourists in Western Visayas, followed by China with 46,565, Australia with 22,499, and Taiwan with 21,643.
