By Mariela Angella Oladive
The idyllic coastal town of Carles in Iloilo has witnessed an impressive 74% increase in tourist visits in the first quarter of 2024, an uplifting sign of post-pandemic recovery for the local tourism sector.
Engr. Tresha Lyn Lozañes, representing the Carles Tourism Office, reported a count of 21,409 tourists at Bancal Port.
These visitors embarked on day trips to the Gigantes Group of Islands and Sicogon Island between January and March. This boost in visitor numbers is a leap from the 15,877 tallied in the same timeframe in 2023.
Lozañes ascribed the boom to a confluence of factors, one being the draw of the Holy Week holiday in March, which notably gathered crowds from Thursday to Saturday.
She also acknowledged the diminishing COVID-19 cases as a contributing factor, instilling a renewed confidence in travel among the populace.
The Carles Tourism Office data underscores March as a month of peak activity, with daily tourist numbers reaching highs of 1,045 on March 28, 794 on March 29, and 957 on March 30. Even on Easter Sunday, which fell on March 31, the destination attracted 392 visitors.
The trend is not showing signs of slowing, as evidenced by the continued flow of approximately 600 daily tourists at Bancal Port as April unfolds.
The allure of summer, coupled with the yearning for beachside getaways, is propelling this surge, offering a promising outlook for Carles’s tourism.
Highlighting Carles’s status as an emerging tourist hotspot, the scenic Sicogon Island is gearing up to host the esteemed International Open Water Swim Circuit’s second leg on April 14.
