Boracay sees over 7,000 daily arrivals for Christmas holidays

More than 7,000 tourists a day are arriving in Boracay to spend the Christmas holidays on the popular tourist island.

In the report by GMA Regional TV's John Sala on 24 Oras, the visitors were seen being greeted by Ati-atihan performers and a band as they disembarked at the dock. 

One of the visitors is Russian tourist Mark Kaliuzhnyi. "Many people told me about Boracay, it is the most beautiful place in the Philippines," he said.

Another, Maria Theresa Galang, is excited to spend time there with her family. "Sabi nila, mas masarap daw dito, 'tsaka talagang yung bakasyun namin dito ey baka kakaiba naman."

(They say it's more fun here, so maybe our vacation here will be an extraordinary one.)

The jetty port management has counted more than 7,000 daily arrivals from the weekend to Wednesday alone.

With the increase in visitors, authorities are tightening security in crowded areas.

"The influx started last Saturday, so the port as is naman siya for maintaining security," said Jeane Pontero, head of Cataclan Jetty Port. "Partner po namin ang mga Philippine National Police, the Philippine Army...[and] the Philippine Coast Guard." — BM, GMA Integrated News