Alaminos City’s Hundred Islands National Park becoming a true paradise on Earth as record numbers of foreign tourists continue to descend on the islands, renowned for their majestic beauty and friendly locals.
Citing Philippines tourism statistics from last year, Mayor Hernani Braganza said that over 162,000 tourist visitors came to explore the islands, 9,995 of them coming from foreign countries. He said that the Hundred Islands was especially popular with Korean visitors, of which there were 4,004 arrivals, and Americans, who numbered 1.663.
In all, tourists arrived from 68 different countries, and “we even had a few coming from places like Congo and Kenya, and they all had a great time here,” said the mayor.
“The increase in foreign visitors to Hundred Islands has resulted in Alaminos City becoming Pangasinan province’s tourist capital, a great victory for our city and our efforts to promote the tourist industry here.”
Rey Livara, who is the manager of Hundred Islands National Park, said that the islands, a group of 124 mostly ancient corals, were hugely popular with bird watchers and picnickers. He has been in charge of the park ever since 2005, when control over the park’s management was passed from the Philippine Tourism Authority to the city’s government with an eye on developing sustainable tourism.
“Hundred Island’s continued growth as a major Philippines tourist destination is a great feat for all the people of Alaminos city, who have defended their reputation from politically motivated efforts of others to destroy their image,” said Braganza.
The mayor went on to explain that efforts made at preserving the island’s marine resources, as well as ensuring safety for all tourists in the city have been key to attracting tourists. He also cited Task Force Kalikasan, which has all but eliminated illegal fishing around Hundred Islands, as playing a part.
“We must never permit anything that can damage Hundred Island’s reputation, nor can we permit its fragile environment to be harmed. Hundred Islands is this city’s most precious natural resource, one we are very proud of,” Braganza said.