More Chinese tourists are still arriving on Boracay Island despite the entry ban order of President Rodrigo Duterte for tourists coming from mainland China and its administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau amid the fight against novel coronavirus (2019 nCoV).
Malay in Aklan local government, which governs Boracay, said it was monitoring 429 Chinese tourists who do not show symptoms of nCoV but have traveled to China within 14 days before they arrived in the Philippines.
Peter Tay, a liaison officer in Boracay of the Chinese Embassy, said 78 tourists from mainland China entered Boracay on Tuesday.
“I’m wondering how and why they were able to get into the island. They should not be allowed after the President issued the executive order,” Tay told the Inquirer.
Last week, Chinese carriers voluntarily suspended their direct flights to Aklan, where famed Boracay island is located, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman Eric Apolonio said.
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Malay Councilor Nenette Aguirre-Graf said a group of Chinese tourists from mainland China came two days ago.
“Where are they coming from? We want them stopped at Caticlan (jetty port),” the councilor said.
The Malay council also passed a resolution requesting acting Mayor Frolibar Bautista to implement a temporary ban on visitors from China.
However, the resolution, which was submitted before the President issued his executive order, excludes tourists flying in from Hong Kong and Macau.
Graf also said the proposed ban did not include Chinese nationals living in the Philippines.
Mayor Bautista said they would still deliberate on how to implement the resolution considering the President’s executive order with broader coverage.
Tay reported local hotels in Boracay were still accepting guests from China saying there was no legal basis not to accommodate the tourists or ask those who are checked-in their hotels to leave.
In 2019, 20% (441,604) of the total 2,242,817 tourists who visited Aklan were from China.