Bohol still tops the preference of tourists looking for beach and vacation.
This was according to a European national who has worked in Boracay for some years.
He said he has just been to Panglao before his vacation in Siargao.
Aside from Panglao, he had also gone to the tarsier conservation areas and other tourist spots in Bohol.
Other tourists in Siargao commented that Bohol has bigger resorts and the roads are better than Siargao.
Even having this, Bohol has sustained its protection of the natural resources, they added.
Boracay may have even bigger and more modern resorts but they were not “well-arranged” and this made Bohol a better choice than Boracay.
They said what attracted them to Boracay then were the celebrities going there.
They also said Bohol fits for tour packages which show off that Bohol is not just the white sands in Panglao.
They got a tour package while in Bohol which they said are better than the two others.
They also commented that Bohol lacked rooms that they had a hard time queuing for reservation.
Also, they admired the old churches in Bohol but said that they did not consider the churches as good inclusion in tour packages.
Ranking the friendliness of the folks, they, however, placed Siargao first, followed by Boracay, then Bohol.
On the service of hotel and resorts staff, they inserted Cebu and Siquijor in the choices as both no. 1, followed by Siargao and Boracay. They placed Bohol last.
Just recently, Marietta Gasatan of the Panglao Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PICCI) admitted that the accommodation capacity of the existing hotels and resorts might barely be enough to accommodate the volume of domestic and foreign tourists that might be coming in when the closure of Boracay would be implemented.
At present, there are only around 3,000 registered hotels, resorts, pension houses and inns in Panglao Island.
Gasatan said that the concern now is the additional volume of tourists that would come in, especially that the closure of Boracay is timed in a summer.
She said that even at the present volume now, the hotels in Panglao are mostly fully-booked.
Almost all the rooms are also reserved until June.
Bohol has been on peak season since end of November.
The PICCI also anticipates the tourist influx to remain high since June to August are lean months for other tourist destinations in the Philippines because of the rainy days and Bohol has been mostly spared from bad weather, thus, most tourists may opt for Bohol.
By August, the New Bohol Airport will start commercial operation which means additional influx of tourists and visitors.
Gasatan said the shortage of accommodation services could only be addressed if the existing hotels and resorts will expand their facilities and additional investors would be coming to construct bigger hotels and resorts.