Cruise giant eyes Boracay as Asian hub

BORACAY, Aklan—US-based cruise giant Royal Caribbean is planning to make Aklan its hub for the region as the province emerges as the “cruise haven of the Philippines.”

In 2014 alone, Boracay Island received nine cruise ship visits, four of which were maiden visits from the world’s most luxurious cruise ship companies, Aklan Gov. Florencio “Joeben” T. Miraflores said during an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting here.

This year, 12 cruise ships have been scheduled to arrive in Boracay, mostly from Royal Caribbean, he added.

“The 12 cruise ships set to arrive this year will just be anchoring offshore, and so if we have a proper port, we can expect more cruise ships to arrive. The plan of one cruise company, the Royal Caribbean, which is the biggest in the US, is to make Aklan its hub for its fly-and-sail services. This means that they will fly in their guests from China to Boracay and let them stay on the island for two days before the guests are loaded in the cruise ships, which will sail around Asia,” Miraflores said separately on the sidelines of the Apec meeting.

To address the growing interest of cruise ships in Aklan, the provincial government is spending P120 million to build a terminal in Caticlan, while the Department of Transportation and Communications has allocated P175 million for the construction of a port in a new reclamation area in Caticlan where cruise ships could dock, Miraflores disclosed.

“[The government] is putting up a port in Caticlan mainland … Right now, the cruise ships are just anchoring in front of the island, so it’s very inconvenient for passengers especially for the senior citizens to get on and off the cruise ships. These ships are from Europe, US and China,” he added.

The initiatives of the Aklan provincial government were meant to address the challenge of maintaining the island’s lead as the country’s premier tourism destination.

Last year, tourist arrivals to Boracay reached 1.47 million, which translated to tourism receipts worth some P41 billion. From the Caticlan-Cagban jettyports operations, Aklan also managed to generate P294 million in revenues.

Last year, the Philippine envoy to Washington disclosed that three of the world’s leading cruise companies have expressed interest to help develop the Philippines as a cruise ship destination.

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia Jr. identified in his report to Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario the companies as Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines.