Boracay business back to normal

MANILA, Philippines – Boracay, the country’s prime tourist destination, sustained damage from typhoon “Frank” but is now back to normal operations, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported yesterday.

“Boracay island is back on its feet after the typhoon and is ready to welcome all visitors,” Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said after an inspection of tourism infrastructure in the province of Aklan.

Durano said the towns of Kalibo and Caticlan, the two major gateways to Boracay, sustained minimal damage and are now fast recovering from the typhoon’s devastation.

He advised stakeholders in the domestic tourism industry to continue promoting Boracay to the international outbound travel market since the island’s travel facilities are all operational.

Durano said international travel operators should honor group bookings considering that flights and ferry services to Boracay are now available and roads within the island are passable.

The tourism chief added that Mandarin Airlines, an international company based in Taiwan, has resumed its direct operations to Kalibo and flew in some 105 tourists from Taipei yesterday.    – Mayen Jaymalin